Exclusive Interview: Rebecca McClanahan Reveals the Hidden Inspirations Behind "Light Falls On Everything"
Interview by Lara Lillibridge
In Light Falls On Everything: A Daughter’s Memoir of Caregiving, Grief, and Possibility (University of North Carolina Press; March 2026), Rebecca McClanahan weaves a ribbon of light through her recounting of caring for her parents at the end of their lives.
I was hesitant to read this book, as my mother currently has dementia. In fact, I read slowly, but what I loved was how gently McClanahan wrote about her parents, and with such love. It was her parents’ deepest desire to stay together until the end, so Rebecca, together with her siblings and husband, moved them from Indiana to a townhouse just two doors down from Rebecca and her husband. In this way, they became “first responders” in taking care of her parents. McClanahan weaves stories from her childhood with the current time of caregiving, and the love the family has for each other is heartrendingly beautiful.
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