Kinship Shift

Come and listen to our Host, Candace Gish, as she chats with today's guest, Dr. Allison Alford, for our "Season of Shift: Women on the Edge of Reinvention" Podcast Series.This series spotlights women who used this reflective season (Oct–Dec) to make major life pivots—career changes, endings, spiritual awakenings, and brave beginnings.Dr. Allison Alford is a communication expert, author, and speaker whose work centers on the often invisible roles women play in their families and communities—especially the overlooked labor of adult daughters. With a PhD and MA in Communication Studies from The University of Texas at Austin and nearly two decades of university-level teaching, Allison brings both academic depth and heartfelt clarity to every conversation about gender, identity, and relational responsibility.Her forthcoming book, Good Daughtering (Dey Street Books/HarperCollins, 2026), invites readers to name and reframe the emotional, logistical, and cognitive labor daughters provide—labor that is deeply impactful yet rarely acknowledged. Drawing on years of qualitative research and hundreds of personal interviews, Allison offers a new vocabulary for understanding this powerful but often misunderstood role.Currently a Clinical Associate Professor at Baylor University, Allison teaches communication and leadership to MBA and undergraduate students. She is known for her warm, thought- provoking style and is a sought-after guest for podcasts exploring motherhood, intergenerational relationships, feminist family studies, and women’s empowerment in midlife.She lives in Texas with her husband and two teenagers and is currently booking podcast appearances and speaking engagements in anticipation of her upcoming book release.Find Dr. Allison Alford online:https://daughtering101.com/https://www.facebook.com/p/Daughtering101-61564467700155/Pre-order my book, Good Daughtering, out February 2026!We explore the kinship shift—the moment adult daughters become the driving force of family connection—and how to honor care without “mothering your mother.” We name the third shift and share practical language to ease guilt, clarify roles, and communicate with grace.• defining the kinship shift and changing power• rejecting “mothering your mother” framing• distance versus proximity and who does what• four dimensions of daughtering: tasks, emotional, cognitive, identity• tracing guilt to cultural scripts, not always parents• the third shift and invisible labor at home and in community• building shared language for family expectations• one-bite-at-a-time communication for tough topics• book details for Good Daughtering and social linksFor more Divas That Care Network Episodes visit www.divasthatcare.com