The Torch Mom Podcast

Everybody has advice for moms ​What to eat ​How to parent ​How much to work. ​What your career should look like ​What your kids need ​What a “good mom” is supposed to do Tara became a mom at 23 and somewhere between raising three very different children, building her career, navigating marriage and becoming the breadwinner in her family, she started questioning how much of that advice actually bel...

Can you be grateful for the family you have and still grieve the one you thought you’d have? Hannah Neal joins Tia Lilley for a conversation about the complicated parts of motherhood that don’t always fit neatly into gratitude, happiness, or heartbreak. From finding her place as a stepmom to navigating pregnancy loss, motherhood, marriage, identity, mom guilt, and the pressure women put on themsel...

Ashley Ortiz became a mom at 19 and graduated high school with her three-month-old daughter in the audience. She became a single mom, survived an abusive relationship while pregnant with her second child, rebuilt her life, created a blended family, and eventually helped build a seven-figure family painting business. But this isn’t a conversation about pretending the hard parts were necessary to be...

Nobody warned her that motherhood would change her identity, her body, her brain, and her sense of self for far longer than she expected. This episode of The Torch Mom Podcast is a powerful conversation about motherhood, identity, burnout, healing, twin pregnancy, marriage, mental health, and the long road back to yourself. Tia sits down with Josie, a therapist, professor, group practice owner, wi...

She was helping homeless families…while secretly living in her car herself. This episode of The Torch Mom Podcast is one of the rawest, most powerful conversations about trauma, survival, motherhood, purpose, resilience, and faith you’ll hear. Tia sits down with Vitelle actress, speaker, author, entrepreneur, and founder of a production company focused on trauma healing through storytelling, for a...

Surviving something life-changing doesn’t mean you magically become okay afterward. Sometimes you survive and still have to grieve the person you used to be. This episode of The Torch Mom Podcast is a raw and powerful conversation about motherhood, identity, burnout, survival, healing, and learning how to exist after life changes you forever. Tia sits down with Amanda, a breast cancer survivor, mo...

Modern motherhood has become deeply isolating and many moms are silently drowning trying to do everything alone. This conversation finally says that part out loud. This episode of The Torch Mom Podcast is a real and refreshing conversation about motherhood, sleep deprivation, identity shifts, entrepreneurship, asking for help, and why moms were never meant to carry everything by themselves. Tia si...

Somewhere along the way, many moms were taught that motherhood meant losing themselves. This conversation challenges that completely. Tia sits down with Sherita Olympian, speaker, author, entrepreneur, wife, and mother for a deeply honest conversation about resilience, purpose, motherhood, and refusing to shrink yourself after having children. From representing Barbados in the Olympics to navigati...

Most parents were never taught how to talk about sex, boundaries, or body confidence… so now they’re raising kids while trying to figure it out in real time. In this episode of The Torch Mom Podcast, Holly Eckelberger joins Tia Lilley for a real, unfiltered conversation about what it actually looks like to raise kids who feel safe in their bodies, confident in their voice, and free from shame. Thi...

The hardest voice she had to silence…was her own. Before she could grow into the woman she’s becoming, she had to unlearn fear, doubt, and everything she believed about herself. Tia sits down with Keelay, a mom, wife, speaker and author who opens up about growing up in a strict household, navigating motherhood, and discovering her purpose through life’s unexpected turns. From saying she never want...

She didn’t even know she was pregnant…until she was almost 7 months along. Now she’s a mom of four, sharing what it really took to survive, heal, and break cycles. Tia sits down with Sandra, a mother of four who opens up about growing up in trauma, navigating abuse, and stepping into motherhood without a roadmap. From finding out she was pregnant late…to dealing with postpartum, parenting through...

She stayed silent for years about the abuse she endured…now she’s using her voice to help other women finally speak up. Tia sits down with Celena (Sunshine), a mother who opens up about surviving years of abuse, losing her identity, and what it really takes to find your voice again. This isn’t just about what she went through… It’s about what happens when you finally decide to stop carrying it alo...

She said what most moms are too afraid to admit out loud. Not every mom enjoys pregnancy. Not every mom feels connected right away. And nobody talks about what that actually does to you. Tia sits down with Kendall a mom who refuses to sugarcoat her experience, from childhood self-doubt to postpartum struggles and the emotional reality of motherhood most people keep hidden. In this episode: ​growin...

This isn’t just about pregnancy sickness…this is what surviving it actually looked like. Tia sits down with Leah, a mother of four, educator, and founder of the Society of Child Entrepreneurs, to unpack her journey from a challenging childhood to building a life centered around empowering kids to lead, speak, and create right now. Leah opens up about growing up feeling unwanted, navigating motherh...

She didn’t just lose her twins…she lost the version of herself no one talks about. Tia sits down with Shruti Trivedi, founder of Tulsi Heals Life Coaching, to talk about the parts of motherhood that are rarely discussed out loud, pregnancy loss, silent grief, mom guilt, and the journey back to yourself. Shruti shares her heartbreaking story of losing pregnancies, delivering twin boys who lived for...

On Tia’s birthday, she reads a written confession from a mother who chose honesty over silence, pouring out the woman she used to be before motherhood, and the parts of her still fighting to breathe today. If you’ve ever felt like you lost pieces of yourself while trying to be everything for everyone, this confession will sit in your chest. It’s vulnerable, it’s familiar and it’s the reminder so m...

What if you could build real income from home, without going viral or losing yourself in the process? In this episode of The Torch Mom Podcast, we sit down with Meg The Creator a mom, mentor, and online income strategist who built quiet, consistent wealth while raising her daughters. She shares how motherhood shaped her path, why she left the pressure to “be an influencer,” and how simple systems...

Today’s Torch Mom Confession is brief, honest, and unexpectedly healing. A mother names the season she’s walking through right now and her words might be the reminder another mom needed today. New confessions drop weekly. If you’re ready to share your own story, choose from one of the links or number below. Connect with The Torch Mom Podcast: Instagram @thetorchmompodcast @torchmomscommunity Faceb...

This week, Anesia opens up about the reality of raising a son while battling health issues that often keep her out of traditional work. Instead of letting her circumstances define her, she built her own digital marketing business, creating a path that fit her body, her family, and her future. Inside this episode: ​the health challenges that changed everything ​how entrepreneurship became her lifel...

This week, Chloe joins The Torch Mom Podcast to share the chapter she never thought would. Full-time photographer, influencer, mom in a blended family, newly engaged, recently divorced and now…finally choosing herself again. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, exhausted, or unsure how to hold it all together…her honesty will breathe life into you. She opens up about rebuilding her peace, protecting h...

Raising mixed kids comes with layers no one warns you about. In this Torch Talk, Rye stay-at-home mom of 2 shares her journey, her transparency, and the identity conversations that young moms often carry alone. ​ Motherhood identity ​ Raising mixed kids in today’s world ​ Letting go of perfection ​ Being present over being “right” “Your kids don’t need a perfect mom. They need a present one.” Watc...

What happens when a mom turns her real-life story into something that helps families heal? In this episode of The Torch Mom Podcast, we sit down with Aleisha Kelly, children’s book author, youth literacy advocate, and founder of 3 Kool Kings, to talk about representation, motherhood, and writing stories that reflect real life. This one’s for every mom rewriting the narrative for her family and ins...

What if your version of freedom started with taking your child out of the system? In this episode of The Torch Mom Podcast, we sit down with Erica Harrell, a principal turned homeschooling mom of two, who walked away from traditional education to build a life centered on freedom, family, and faith. This one’s for the moms craving flexibility, purpose, and the courage to create their own way. Conne...

What if the life that tried to break you was actually preparing you to rise? In this episode of The Torch Mom Podcast, we sit down with Eileen author, speaker, coach, and founder of Lady Bellator, a movement calling women out of the shadows and into their God-given purpose. She’s walked through heartbreak, rebuilding, and blended family life and now she’s helping women protect their identity, stre...

What if motherhood didn’t mean losing your identity but rediscovering your creativity? In this episode of The Torch Mom Podcast, we sit down with a stay-at-home mom, entrepreneur, and author who’s redefining what it means to build, create, and inspire while raising her little girl. She’s showing moms everywhere that you can be present and purposeful and that your dreams don’t stop when motherhood...