Caregivers like JD Vance can hold families and even nations together
At the 2024 Republican National Convention, JD Vance stepped to the podium and asked former President Donald Trump if his mother’s tenth sobriety anniversary could be celebrated at the White House. The crowd erupted.
That applause wasn’t just for his mother. It was for every family scarred by addiction and every individual — and family — struggling to climb out of despair. It was a moment of triumph — not just for one man, but a testament to resilience, caregiving and the power of change.
November is National Caregiver Awareness Month, a time to honor those 65+ million Americans who step into the gap for loved ones in need. Caregivers are often unseen, yet, contributing more than $600 billion annually in unpaid care, their role is crucial for individuals, families and communities. Few realize that being in a relationship with a person with an addiction makes someone a caregiver. Addiction is a chronic impairment, and where there’s a chronic impairment, there’s a caregiver.
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The struggles of close family members with addiction have shaped both Vance and Trump. Trump’s older brother, Fred Jr., battled alcoholism — a struggle that ultimately claimed his life at just 42 years old. The loss profoundly impacted Trump, instilling in him a lifelong aversion to alcohol. For Vice President-elect Vance, it was his mother’s fight with substance abuse. Their stories highlight how addiction’s reach extends far beyond the person in its grip.
Caregiving is a universal experience, even for those who might not label it as such — it’s the human condition. If you love someone, you’ll probably be a caregiver. If you live long enough, you’ll need one. Caregiving involves juggling hope and heartbreak, providing support while grappling with limitations. From Autism to addiction to Alzheimer’s, the same principles of resilience, boundaries and accountability apply.
The path to healing for individuals mirrors the path to recovery for a nation swimming in debt, inflation and division. Caregivers must confront hard truths, set boundaries and pursue change. A nation must do the same to move forward. Ignoring problems only deepens wounds.
Not everyone struggling with addiction or infirmity has a caregiver who stayed. Many families fracture under the weight. Some give up, burned out by chaos. Yet those who remain — standing alongside the addicted or afflicted through the storm — carry a weight few understand. Their sacrifices often go unnoticed, but their influence can mean the difference between recovery and ruin.
For Vance, "What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger" isn’t just a cliché — it’s his reality. His ability to excel at this level speaks volumes. His leadership isn’t fueled by grievance — a currency many in politics spend as recklessly as our dollars. Instead, it’s defined by hard-earned clarity and bluntness shaped by experience.
Vance’s moment at the RNC wasn’t just about his mother’s sobriety. It invited the nation to consider what recovery might look like — not just for individuals and families but for a country with deep wounds. Addiction, division and conflict have scarred families and institutions — but scars remind us of what we’ve endured and the possibility of healing.
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The ability to lead without bitterness is rare, but it’s precisely what Vance embodies. His bluntness is tempered with grace; his clarity comes without cruelty. These traits aren’t just political skills — they reflect the character of someone who has endured the hardship of watching a loved one struggle and refused to be defined by it.
He’s learned what every healthy caregiver must: You cannot save others by destroying yourself. Like so many caregivers, Vance recognized that one person’s recovery cannot come at another’s expense. This principle — which also applies to a nation — is foundational to leadership, especially in a world awash in conflict and uncertainty.
This country needs leadership grounded in health and resilience. Caregivers — often unseen yet essential forces — hold families and communities together through their sacrifices and resilience. Leaders like Vance, who have faced unimaginable pain and emerged with clarity, understand that strength doesn’t come from avoiding hardship. It endures hardship and finds purpose both within it and beyond it.
Vance’s story is an invitation to look at the scars we bear as individuals and a country — not as marks of failure but as reminders of what we’ve endured and the possibilities of redemption.
If individuals can recover, so can families. If families can heal, so can communities. And if communities can find purpose, so can America — one day at a time.