About Your Mother

Meet Travis Helms, a local priest in Jackson whom I've had the pleasure of getting to know. We talk about just about everything in this conversation, including his mom's mysticism, her early death, and what she taught him about faith. We also dive deep into an extremely polarizing topic: religion. Travis shares what he thinks the church gets wrong, the universal struggles people face tod...

Here’s something we can all agree on: nature is healing. My guest on this episode of About Your Mother , Scott Schumaker, speaks from firsthand experience about nature's healing power. He explores this topic and more on his podcast Love, Loss, and Hallucinations .  After retiring as a professional athlete, Scott lost his identity, and his marriage was on the rocks. Listen as he shares his jou...

How do you know when you can repair a relationship versus when it’s time to walk away? My guest on this episode of About Your Mother , Kate King, shares the difference between a difficult relationship and a toxic one, and how to know what you should do next. Kate is a licensed professional counselor and board-certified art therapist. Her latest book, Mend or Move On , dives into the details of dea...

How do you make peace with what your family has given you, both the good and the bad? My guest today is Bridget Crocker , a trailblazer in the outdoor industry and author of The River’s Daughter .  In her incredible memoir, she writes about breaking the cycle of abuse in her family and relying on nature as a guide. Our conversation will inspire you to face your past and look to nature to help you...

Life changing conversations can happen at any time in our lives—but what if you are 14 and your mother reveals a secret that upends your adolescence and sends you on a decades long journey to untangle from the world she brought you in, the world you were happy to be a part of? Adrienne Brodeur's best selling book, Wild Game , examines the price she paid to be her mother's confidant and h...

Immersing ourselves in a culture is exhilarating and can change our view of the world. What happens when you are an American marrying into a Chinese family? What could go wrong? Good Chinese Wife is a memoir that explores Susan Blumberg-Kason's life integrating into a Chinese family and her thrilling search for agency. Connect with Susan susanbkason.com Good Chinese Wife Learn more about the...

I’m honored to have a hometown hero from Jackson, Wyoming, on this episode of the About Your Mother podcast. Lindsay Linton Buk is a photographer and storyteller originally from Powell, Wyoming. Her dream took her to New York and back, where she learned photography from the best in the industry before being called back home.  Lindsay and I sat down in person for this conversation about art, her ro...

How do you turn your trauma into growth? I’m thrilled to share my conversation with Dave Sanderson, a leadership expert, motivational speaker, and one of the passengers on the flight that became the infamous Miracle on the Hudson event. Listen in as Dave shares about his experience on the harrowing day, how his mother’s voice guided him, and how he turned a traumatic event into one of the best thi...

Is the foster care system in the US broken, or is it even worse than that? According to Rob Schreer, my guest in this episode of About Your Mother , the system is shattered and must be rebuilt. A child enters foster care every two minutes, totaling around 700 children a day. Eighty percent of death row inmates were foster children, and only 54% of foster children graduate high school. As a foster...

Ann Fessler's critically accompanied book, " The Girl Who Went Away ," gives voice to the millions of women forced to surrender their babies in the decades before Roe v Wade . As an artist and a teacher, listening to Ann tell her story feels like you are walking into a lecture hall about to learn something new, and you are. This episode originally aired in December of 2022. Connect...

This is the story of a mother who made the ultimate sacrifice for her and her daughter’s freedom. In this episode, I’m joined by Namratha Stanley, author of Vineyard Melody , and wine entrepreneur. Namratha shares about her own mother’s sacrifices and the example of unconditional love she set throughout her upbringing. At age 24, Namratha married into an abusive family and lost her sense of self....

What happens when the places that are supposed to feel safest become the places that wound us most deeply? In this episode, I sit down with Stephanie Maley to talk about her memoir, No Longer That Girl , and the extraordinary path she’s taken from childhood trauma to a life rooted in faith, resilience, love, and purpose.  Stephanie shares her journey through grooming, sexual abuse, illness, shame,...

How do you discover your sense of belonging when your culture and background have been erased? In this episode of About Your Mother, I’m joined by Brittany Penner, author of Children Like Us: A Métis Woman's Memoir of Family, Identity and Walking Herself Home . She shares her story of being adopted as an infant, the history of indigenous children being taken from their families in the Sixties...

We've pulled a special episode from the vault for you to take a listen to! One of my favorite stories I've had the honor of sharing on About Your Mother , is that of Peter Mutabazi — a remarkable human being who survived a traumatic childhood, only to use that experience to transform lives.  This episode originally aired in May of 2021. He ran away from an abusive father at the age of te...

In honor of Valentine’s Day, my husband Mark joins this episode of About Your Mother for an honest conversation about messy and imperfect love. We’re sharing one of the most profound lessons about love we learned on a trip to France this summer, when a lovely Brazilian couple shared the secret to lasting love with us.  I’ll be honest: our marriage hasn’t always been easy - what union is? If you’ve...

Is determination and skill innate? There are athletes… and then there are the stories that shape them. A young boy who didn’t like the rules of youth team sports. A mom who brings home a flyer for a local BMX track. And a path that changes everything. For Connor Fields, that path is as remarkable as it is far-reaching. A three-time Olympian (2012, 2016, and 2020), each Games brought a new chapter—...

A mother’s love knows no limits, and Lesley Hu’s story on this episode of About Your Mother perfectly illustrates that. Content warning: this is an incredibly emotional and painful story that contains an episode of violence that is hard to reconcile with our conscience. However, it’s also a story of hope and a mother’s love that is tested beyond comprehension.  Five years ago, to the date this epi...

Oftentimes, our fears are our best guide. The things we don't understand can be our greatest teachers. In this episode of About Your Mother , we examine the mother we all share: Mother Nature.  Today, we reflect on Mother Earth through one of her most misunderstood teachers, the wolf. For a long time, I've been following the story of Takaya , the lone wolf. He found himself alone on an i...

 Have you ever watched the Olympics and wondered what it takes to get on the podium? Sure, there are the physical demands, but what about the mental strength? You are competing in front of the world against the best in the world. No pressure. Right? We all know it is most likely the athlete who puts the most pressure on themselves. So, when does someone decide they will be an Olympian? For my next...

 Since I was in my twenties, I've read the New York Times Sunday edition in a particular order: the style section is first, plus I read the modern love piece every time. I remember reading what Shamu taught me about marriage, and I remember reading, “Those aren't fighting words, dear.” It didn't take Laura Munson weeks or even months to write them either. It was less than an hour. W...

 Chance meetings can lead to the most incredible connections. While I was doing a ski clinic this winter, the instructor overheard a conversation I was having about publishing my book. Later that day, she approached me, “I heard you're an author! So is my mom, Jane Green, do you know her?” Of course, I know her. Jane Green is a national bestseller. Today, Jane joins me to share about her jour...

 If you want to get to know your mother, have her on your podcast. I wrote a book about my mother's life and my own, and it was hard for her, naturally. But people ask me, what does your mom think about the book? For this Mother’s Day, I invited my mother on my podcast to share her voice with my listeners and readers.  Just like phone conversations, a microphone has the power to deepen person...

As Mother's Day approaches, I find myself reflecting even more deeply on the women who shaped us—especially the woman who shaped me: my mother. Through hosting the About Your Mother podcast and writing my memoir, Both Sides of Then , I’ve learned that Mother's Day isn’t just about celebration—it’s also about reflection, curiosity, and connection. At the heart of my work is one simple but...

Mothering is hard, but we don’t want to admit that there is pain in everyday mothering. Why is that? Confessing to the dark moments of mothering keeps us from living up to the high bar of perfection that we–and society–has asked of mothers. In this episode, I interview Dr. Margo Lowy , a psychotherapist and the author of Maternal Ambivalence, about why we need to embrace the light and dark moments...

Is your relationship with money inherited? What if, when it came to your finances, you mothered yourself? In this episode of About Your Mother , personal finance expert Elizabeth Husserl shares the radical redefinition of wealth that we all need to hear. Elizabeth is the author of The Power of Enough , which she dedicated to her ancestors and the wisdom they instilled in her. Resources Mentioned M...