Listen To My Mother

This week, Shain, Sarah, and Sarah’s sister Mara gather in Phoenix to discuss Heartwood by Amity Gaige—a novel that sparked a much larger conversation about mothers, daughters, and the stories we tell about our families. What begins as a discussion of the book’s intertwined mother-daughter relationships quickly becomes a reflection on their own. Together, they explore how siblings can grow up with...

Shain and Sarah start with a conversation about discernment counseling, which is a style of counseling used when couples can’t decide whether to stay married or separate. But as usual, the clinical conversation turns personal. Shain reflects on her own marriage, the fights, the “f* you” that didn’t end it, and the decades it took to reclaim her voice. Sarah shares how a childhood of people coming...

In this episode, Shain and Sarah sit down for an honest conversation about grief, responsibility, boundaries, and the growing culture of estrangement. Shain shares the reality of losing a close friend and the unexpected emotional and logistical weight of serving as executor. Sarah reflects on her own season of change and shifting relationships. Together, they explore big questions many modern fami...

Shain opens up about her “soul friend” in the ICU and what it feels like to be the person everyone relies on in a crisis. With no listener submission this month, Sarah pulls out one of her keepsake journals and asks Shain a question straight from the page: “Were your parents religious when you were growing up?” That single prompt leads to stories about Holocaust-survivor parents, Jewish identity,...

This week, Shain and Sarah respond to a listener who’s struggling to make peace with a career risk that didn’t go as planned—and the sting of comparing herself to friends earning four times her salary. They unpack what it means to redefine success when life doesn’t follow a straight line. Shain applauds the courage it takes to start over and Sarah explores how grief, growth, and comparison intertw...

This week, Shain and Sarah tackle a listener’s question about a friend who seems to be drifting away. Is it just the natural pull of a new relationship, or something more concerning?  For the first time, mother and daughter don’t quite see eye to eye—Shain doesn't hold back, while Sarah leans into the complexities of grief, boundaries, and what it means when friendships shift. Along the way, they...

In this week’s episode, Shain and Sarah dive into a listener’s heartfelt question, "What happens when attraction fades in a long-term marriage—even after repair?" Shain shares her own story of decades of resentment, hurtful words, and disconnection as well as the surprising ways intimacy and trust eventually found their way back. Sarah brings the clinical lens, weaving in how the body remembers pa...

With no listener question this week, Sarah turns the mic on Shain and asks, "Do you ever wish you didn’t have kids?" Their conversation touches on societal pressures, the modern dilemma of choice, and their relationships to the children in their lives. Shain reflects on the lack of choice she felt when starting her family, while Sarah opens up about her own uncertainty. Want your anonymous questio...

Shain and Sarah receive a submission from 'Bella,' a woman facing a sudden and puzzling change in her neighbor's demeanor. Once supportive and friendly, her neighbor has turned hostile, complicating Bella's life and leaving her unsure how to proceed. In this episode, Shain and Sarah dig into the complex dynamics of neighborhood relationships, personal boundaries, and the difficult choices Bella fa...

In this quick check-in episode, Shain and Sarah discuss Sarah's upcoming trip to Israel amidst travel chaos and global tensions. The resulting conversation touches on the Jewish experience both in America and Israel and highlights contrasting fears faced by Jews around the world.

Shain and Sarah receive a submission from 'Nurse D' about her growing lack of confidence in her career. Nurse D asks the question so many of us are quietly holding: "What if I’m not as sharp as I used to be?" In this episode, Shain and Sarah explore the complicated intersection of aging, identity, and self-worth.

In lieu of a listener's submission, Shain turns the mic toward Sarah and asks, "If you could ask me one question before I die, what would it be?" What unfolds is a raw and real conversation about how a mother’s words can become a child’s self-talk, the legacy of body shaming, and the lifelong echoes of the way we were seen as children.

It's a family affair as Mara, Sarah's older sister, joins Shain and Sarah to talk about antisemitism, the legacy of holocaust survivors (and whether or not humor is an appropriate part of remembrance), and the pitfalls of family communication.

In this episode of Listen to My Mother, Shain and Sarah are joined by Sarah’s dad for a raw and real conversation on emotional intimacy, what it means to feel seen, and how love can get lost in translation. They respond to Amber, a listener who feels invisible in a long-term relationship despite friendship, fun, and great sex. Together, they unpack the science (and not-so-science) of love language...

In this powerful first episode of Listen to My Mother, meet Shain—a New York Jewish mom with decades of lived wisdom—and Sarah, her daughter and a practicing therapist. Together, they tackle a deeply personal listener letter from Kelly, a healthcare worker who’s completely burnt out after years on the COVID front lines, family trauma, and pregnancy loss. With heart, humor, and raw honesty, Shain a...