In Bridgeport, a daughter balances love, and burnout, as she cares for her ailing mother

Connecticut Public – Friday, June 20, 2025
By Sujata Srinivasan

Valerie Jones sits in a sun-lit room at a rented townhouse in Bridgeport, Connecticut, singing happy birthday. It’s not the birthday of anyone she knows, but it’s the only song she can remember, and she loves to sing.

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,” she hums.

Jones is 87 years old and has breast and bladder cancer. But she doesn’t know it because she also has Alzheimer’s disease. Turning to a woman standing nearby, she asks, “So your name is what?”

“Cookie!” the woman replies, and Jones shakes her head in disbelief.

“No, no, no, no! You’re not my Cookie,” she nods vehemently.

The woman is, in fact, Cookie Jones, Valerie’s 60-year-old daughter. And she’s one of millions of American adults who are caregivers for family and friends, according to the new documentary “Caregiving,” premiering on PBS June 24.

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