Rewrite the Mother Code with Dr. Gertrude Lyons

In this inspiring episode, I sit down with my friend Susie Transou, founder of Hearth and Soul , a unique retail concept that feels more like a home than a store. Susie shares her fascinating journey from growing up in the beer industry and running a large beverage distributorship with her husband to launching a completely new venture at age 50. We discuss the pivotal moment at a birthday party wh...

In this inspiring episode, I sit down with Harper A. Bailey (the pen name of Teosha Bailey), a public health leader, speaker, and author of the powerful new memoir It Was Her . Harper shares the deeply personal and spiritual journey of bringing her book to life, a process she describes as a "co-creation with God and my ancestors." We discuss how the idea for her memoir came to her four years ago a...

In this profound episode, I sit down with Chameli Ardagh, a yogini, mystic, and founder of Awakening Women . Chameli shares her powerful personal journey, beginning with a childhood in Norway deeply connected to nature but marked by family volatility. She recounts her early escape into spirituality as a way to transcend suffering, only to realize later, through a pivotal moment of reckoning, that...

In this powerful episode, I sit down with Whitney Walker, a licensed marriage and family therapist, recovery coach, spiritual guide, and host of the Women Waken podcast. Whitney shares her incredibly raw and vulnerable journey, from a childhood marked by an absent father and an emotionally immature mother to struggling with debilitating low self-esteem, addiction, and eating disorders in her 20s....

In this insightful episode, Dr. Gertrude Lyons welcomes Emily Paulsen, an award-winning entrepreneur, brand strategist through her studio Electric Collab, and host of the Curious Life of a Child-Free Woman podcast. Emily is dedicated to shining a light on the often-overshadowed child-free by choice perspective. Their conversation centers on the powerful collision of the "mother code" world with th...

In this deeply moving episode, I speak with Ronit Plank, a writer, teacher, editor, and host of the Let's Talk Memoir podcast. Ronit is the author of the award-winning memoir When She Comes Back , which chronicles the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation. Ronit shares her powerful story of growing up with a mother who left her and her sister to fo...

In this powerful episode, I sit down with Diane Ortega, a Certified Nurse Midwife and co-founder of the first nurse-midwife-owned freestanding birth center in Arizona. Diane shares her personal journey from being an office manager to becoming a midwife, a path inspired by her own "profoundly different" and empowering birth experience with midwives after a conventional hospital birth. Our conversat...

In this deeply personal and full-circle episode, I sit down with my dear friend, creative collaborator, and "sister-daughter," Megan Taylor. I was blessed to be one of Megan’s first-ever life coaches when she was in her 20s, and our relationship has beautifully evolved into a rich, mutual friendship and powerful partnership. Most recently, Megan was the visionary producer behind my Rewrite the Mot...

In this inspiring episode, I sit down with Anna Lozano, a mom, founder, investor, and host of the Prosperity Playground podcast. Anna shares her powerful story, beginning with her upbringing as a Polish immigrant in Canada, where she was programmed to "work hard, study hard, get good grades, [and] climb that corporate ladder". She followed that path to an Ivy League business school and a "soul-dra...

In this solo episode, Dr. Gertrude Lyons returns to the mic after a couple of months away to reflect on the sacred spaces that shape us - our homes, our communities, and the fires that keep us connected. Broadcasting from her Chicago home after time in Ireland, Gertrude shares stories from her 2 retreats in Ireland, her 95-year-old mother traveling to Ireland, and even returning to her childhood h...

In this episode, I sit down with the wonderfully multifaceted Stephanie Sprenger—a writer, podcaster, producer of live storytelling and comedy shows, and single mom to two teenage girls. Stephanie shares her journey from being an early childhood music therapist to reclaiming her identity as a writer, a path that led her to create vibrant communities for women to find and share their voices. Our co...

In this fascinating and vital episode, I speak with Dr. Greer Kirshenbaum - a neuroscientist, doula, infant and family sleep specialist, and author of The Nurture Revolution . Greer is leading a movement to revolutionize mental health by focusing on the profound impact of caregiving in the earliest stages of life. Her work combines cutting-edge neuroscience with the ancient wisdom of nurturing to...

In this heartfelt episode, I sit down with my dear friend Joey McCune, a visionary entrepreneur, sacred space designer, and portal guide. Joey is the founder of the stunning Sound Healing Tulum and Cenote Sagrado sanctuary in the Yucatan jungle, as well as the leader of Sakred Journeys, a platform for transformative retreats to sacred sites around the world. Our conversation centers on Joey's own...

In this powerful episode, I am joined by Valerie Jones, author of The Selfish Year , host of The Selfish Woman podcast, and founder of The Selfish Woman Movement. Valerie shares her incredible journey from being a chronic people-pleaser, conditioned to be the "good girl," through two difficult marriages that ultimately led her to a profound breaking point. In a radical act of self-preservation, sh...

Episode Title Options: Should We Listen to Our Mothers? A Legacy of Love and Strength with Jackie Tantillo The Golden Thread of Motherhood: Lessons from a Large Family with Jackie Tantillo Rewriting the Mother Code Through Communication and Forgiveness with Jackie Tantillo Growing Up with Seven Siblings: A Story of Family, Creativity, and Connection with Jackie Tantillo In this episode, I have the...

In this episode, I speak with Linda Brand, a transformational coach and host of the Worthy and Abundant podcast, about her powerful journey of healing and self-discovery. Linda shares her story of overcoming a childhood rooted in scarcity and fear, navigating a debilitating illness that became a major awakening, and making the courageous leap from a career in real estate to founding her own coachi...

In this episode, I sit down with Tracy Ftacek - serial entrepreneur, manifestation coach, and host of Manifest + Chill - to explore what it really means to release perfectionism, let go of hustle culture, and step into a life of joy, ease, and alignment. Tracy shares her powerful story of growing up in Alaska, building businesses in the beauty industry, selling her company, and navigating the diso...

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Mary Ella Wood, physician, medical director, and new mother, to explore her path from general surgery to integrative medicine, and how her personal journey of motherhood has deepened her approach to healing. As the Medical Director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Northwestern, Dr. Wood blends evidence-based functional and holistic practices - nu...

In this moving solo episode, Dr. Gertrude Lyons shares tender reflections from her time in Ireland. Fresh off her book launch, book tour, and the release of her TEDx talk, Gertrude opens up about the chaos and beauty of building a home abroad, preparing for her first Ireland self-mothering retreat, and welcoming her mother into this new sacred space. She takes listeners behind the scenes of a whir...

In this lively and heartfelt episode, Dr. Gertrude Lyons welcomes Laura Conley—certified life and weight coach, and the dynamic force behind The Yummy Mummy . Their conversation begins with the serendipity of meeting at Gertrude’s book launch event in Los Angeles and quickly flows into Laura’s inspiring personal story. After becoming a mother, Laura found herself consumed with thoughts about losin...

In this episode, I speak with Amy Schutte, an entrepreneur, writer, and host of the Business, Origin, Stories podcast, about her journey of leaving a stable corporate career to launch her own strategic communications and branding agency after becoming a mother. Amy shares how motherhood awakened an intuitive part of her that led to a major life pivot, driven by a desire for a life and career that...

Episode Title Options: The Unveiling: Dr. Gertrude Lyons on Her Book Launch Journey Beyond the Book Launch: Navigating the Marathon of New Beginnings with Dr. Gertrude Lyons Realities of a Book Launch: Lessons in Self-Mothering with Dr. Gertrude Lyons From Sprint to Marathon: Dr. Gertrude Lyons Reflects on Her First Book Body: In this episode, I share an honest reflection on the journey of my firs...

In this rich, heart-centered conversation, Dr. Gertrude Lyons speaks with family law attorney and equity partner Katy Mickelson about following a nonlinear career path, parenting through IVF, and how real life—not law school—became her greatest teacher. Katy shares what it means to bring creativity into a traditionally rigid field, why she values mentorship, and how raising teens has taught her as...

In this insightful conversation, Dr. Gertrude Lyons sits down with entrepreneur, leadership coach, and podcast host Emily Bronaugh. Together, they unpack what it means to lead with intention, hire with care, and mother a business without losing yourself in the process. Emily shares her journey from burnout to business ownership, and how she learned to build systems, delegate with trust, and create...

In this powerful and unapologetic conversation, I sit down with Sonali Fiske—TEDx speaker, creative coach, former radio host, and fierce advocate for cultural equity and representation. We explore the intersection of creative expression, sacred rage, and self-mothering, and the courage it takes to tell the truth in a world built to silence it. Sonali shares her journey of moving from invisibility...