She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from UC Davis and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at University of Michigan. Her particular focus is on family and kinship, caregiving, and friendship across the life course. Her recently published book, titled Odd Couples, examines friendships between gay men and straight women, and also between lesbians and straight men, and shows how these "intersectional" friendships serve as a barometer for shifting social norms, particularly regarding gender and sexual orientation.