Mamafuel: The Podcast

I love all my guests, and this week's is no exception. Shari Teigman is a whirlwind of straight-talking, powerhouse New York determination and grit. In this week's conversation we talk about her realisation that to live and thrive, she needed to break away from the traditional mother and matriarch roles handed down through her Modern Orthodox Jewish upbringing, and what it meant to do that in the community where she was raised. Shari still lives and mothers in the place where she grew up; she's founded her business, launched three podcasts, raises her two boys on her own and keeps exploring different ways to belong in this new, truer form of herself. Shari and I talk about the insidiousness of mothers being valued for being selfless, how living in the place you grew up can blind you to the structures that others impose upon you, and how damaging it is that we don't learn to trust ourselves from the outset. We talk about Byron Katie's The Work, which you can learn more about here, how important it is to choo

At the time of recording, it’s the end of Global Maternal Mental Health Week (early May 2019). This is an episode with a difference, and it feels vulnerable and frightening to share it with you. But I’m doing it because this story matters. My mental health journey matters, and as I’ve been sharing it this week online, the response has been incredible. So many women are suffering silently, convinced they’re alone. They aren’t. You aren’t. In this week’s episode you’ll learn why I know first-hand that we must keep conversation and education growing around maternal mental health. I learned about it the hard way, and I wish I’d known of people talking about it at the time. Maternal mental illness is an epidemic that must be stopped. If you know me outside of motherhood, this episode might surprise you. If you know me as a mama, you might still be surprised because I present as (and am) fiercely smart, sharp-minded and quick-witted. I’m also incredibly fragile, just like everyone else out there. Some people sa

If you’re a fan of The Voice UK, you’ll likely recognise the voice of this week’s guest. Sarah Tucker was a breathtakingly talented contestant on the 2019 version of the show, and she captured hearts and carried the dreams of many mamas as she soared in the competition. A few months ago Sarah’s run on the show came to an end, but not before scores of people had fallen under the spell of her voice. What few people knew, however, was what Sarah had gone through to get onto that mythical stage. In this week’s episode, Sarah talks about her lifelong dream to become a mother and the parallel dream she tirelessly pursued to become a professional singer. We talk about Sarah’s difficult passage into motherhood following a missed miscarriage, the power of manifestation, spirituality, social media and the role it played in triggering a crippling post-natal depression after the birth of her second child Josh, and much more. For more detailed show notes, click here. If you’d like to talk to Sarah directly and ask he

Many parents dread having "THE TALK" with their kids, fearful of using true anatomical language, saying too much or having to answer uncomfortable questions. Today's guest, Sarah Sproule, learned first-hand about the importance of the talk AND how much of an impact having (or not having) the talk could have on her social circle and her children's network of friends. Ever since, Sarah's dedicated her life to helping parents navigate the potentially treacherous waters of talking about sex in ways that connect and build stronger bonds with their children. We explore how to talk to your kids, framing their new knowledge in ways that will preserve their friendships (aka: you're lucky to know this stuff, not everyone's parents talk to them about this), how to talk to them about sexual pleasure, and how to create respectful boundaries around conversations that not every family is prepared to have.  I loved Sarah's perspective on culture, and how we're now at the opposite of the "don't talk" spectrum where some pe

Hannah Hardy-Jones could be a stranger in a far-off land, but instead she's a brand new soul sister. Our digital paths crossed somewhere on the interwebs a few months ago and a gentle conversation began, quickly deepening as we discovered shared values and interests.  Our first conversation, recorded to share with you, felt more like one in a long string of conversations than a simple beginning. I'm deeply moved by Hannah and touched by her openness about her experiences with post-natal bi-polar disorder.  Hannah's generous sharing about her life-altering experience and how she manages it now invites us all to look closely at preconceptions or stigmas we may hold about mental illness. We move from trauma in the community (Hannah lives just outside Christchurch and we recorded this conversation a week after the horrific massacre of innocent Muslims in their places of worship), to the importance of sisterhood and support, especially in times of illness, and finally to Hannah's newest baby: an offering that's

This week's guest is a force of nature, a leader and a wise, wise woman. Debbi Carberry is a therapist, a clinical social worker, possibly Brené Brown's twin, a mama of four, owner and leader of five businesses, loving partner, friend, and so much more.  Debbi and I go deep straight away, talking about shame, self-acceptance, self-compassion, kindness and building individual relationships with each person we love. As our conversation weaves from love to self-criticism, via the power and impact of silent genetic messages that are passed from generation to generation, we exchange our experiences as mothers, leaders and women doing our best, every day.  To find out more about this conversation, visit https://thecenteredmamaproject.com/podcast/ep040-debbi-carberry/

A few months ago I was awe-struck, watching magic in motion. The woman who orchestrated this particular piece of real-life magic is my guest on this week's episode of MamaFuel. Sally Wyatt is an adventurer, a kind, energetic and intelligent woman who happens to be a mama to two tiny human girls, a writer, a dreamer and a courageous soul who spends a lot of time outside her comfort zone. Sally moved to Switzerland less than a year ago (at time of recording) and has already built up a deep network of close friends and soul sisters through a H-U-G-E leap of faith she took late last year. Her willingness to make things happen and to find ways of making things work is inspiring me, and I know it'll inspire you too.  In this week's episode we talk about the benefits of living outside your comfort zone (where Sally is happiest), finding your way back to yourself in the midst of mothering and all the things life throws at you, life as an expat, how moments of change and failure remind you that you're alive, why tea

This week I'm proud to introduce you to the little being who made me a mama. Her name is Carolina, and she's an incredibly special soul, a super smart girl and a wonderful, complicated, being. We're pressing into the preteen years and today's conversation, as well as being a time capsule of where she's at and how she's thinking, is probably representative of the concerns and priorities shared by a lot of kids her age.  We talk about dyslexia, what it was like to be undiagnosed and struggling at school, how it felt to get help with her dyslexia, bullying, big transitions and getting used to new circumstances. Carolina shares her thoughts on what parents can do if they think their kids are struggling with dyslexia or any other learning differences, what she thinks about some new guidelines we've just agreed and you'll get a front seat for a MASSIVE event that happened on the day of recording. It's an unusual and sometimes funny episode which I've left totally unedited, because that's how we roll. I adore my g

OOOOOhhhhhh my goodness this week's podcast episode is good... Meet Celia Ward-Wallace. She's an activist, a community building and organiser, a powerhouse entrepreneur, a gatherer of beautiful souls and a mama to two beautiful black girls growing up in South Central Los Angeles. Along with her husband, Celia is raising two upstanding citizens who are already making a difference in our world. In this week's conversation, Celia and I touch on racial discrimination, what it's like to be growing up black in today's America, activism and the role it played both in her upbringing and how it continues to impact her life now, spirituality, white privilege and how to educate ourselves about it, and so much more. I could spend ages writing about this conversation but honestly: LISTEN. Then SHARE. We need to be having these (sometimes uncomfortable) conversations.  If you'd like to connect with Celia, get a list of her recommended reading or learn more about her work in the world, click here to get everything you n

Today's guest once did what so many mamas occasionally dream of doing: she stepped away from everyone and everything and went in search of herself. She said yes to her needs and her life, and in doing so gave everyone in her family permission to do the same. How? By leaving home for longer than she believed was possible.   In her search for solitude, Glyniss found what she'd needed the most: how to remember and reconnect to who she was. This week's conversation centers around Glyniss' brave decision to (temporarily) walk away from the family she'd built with her whole heart and soul. Glyniss explains how she totally lost her identity in striving to be more Walton-ish than Mrs Walton herself, and the dramatic steps she took to save herself.  I won't spoil it all for you by describing what came next, so dive in and share this episode with ALLLL mamas, no matter where they are on the journey. Even if they're mamas-to-be, share this. I wish I'd heard some of the wisdom that Glyniss drops during our conversation

OOOOhhh am I excited to share THIS ONE! My guest this week is Julie Neale, founder of the amazing Mother’s Quest podcast, coach and mama of two exceptional and amazing boys. She’s a sparkling soul whose podcast gave me the courage to start hosting these MamaFuel conversations. Julie and I cover a lot of ground, from raising differently-wired kids to discovering your strengths and the support you have in community. I turn the tables on Julie and ask her to walk us through the ways she's living her E.P.I.C. life, sparked to the max with joy and delight at leading other mothers in discovering their version of epic living. You'll want a pen and paper to note down each of the guideposts Julie talks about! Later in the interview Julie speaks spoke movingly about her interview with Sybrina Fulton, whose son Trayvon died as a result of racial profiling and gun violence. Julie and her community are supporting Sybrina’s incredibly important initiative “Circle of Mothers” which allows mothers who have lost their child

Life has many seasons, and this week’s guest is ROCKIN’ her current season in life and loving her empty nest. Ann Sheybani is revelling in the time she now has to live life entirely on her terms, engrossed in what thrills her and setting off on countless adventures. I loved our conversation about love and worry (spoiler alert: it’s not the same thing), how you can have it all, but NOT all at the same time. My favourite quote? “This superwoman thing is CRAP!” because we end up like we’re falling short all the time. Not good and so true. When her children were young, Ann tried to shield her children from suffering as their father fell ill and eventually died. That’s when she learned the hardest lesson of all for a mother “you can’t save your kids from pain and suffering. You can’t control everything. The guilt and worry is totally a waste of energy and time. Do your best, trust that you’re doing your damndest, and give it up to god or whatever.” Words to live by. We meander through the quickest way to destr

It's a new year with its fresh-scented promise of great things to come. Whatever your ambitions this year, my wish for us all is kindness, gentleness, success, heaps of fun and wickedly delightful adventure. In today's episode I'm doing something scary: I'm telling you what's about to switch around here and why. It's all about belonging, sisterhood and why it matters so damned much to have a group of trustworthy, supportive women who have your back through thick and thin. Today's episode marks a pivot for this podcast, a pivot for my business and the beginning of a massive flourishing for the MamaFuel Sisterhood community.  I can't wait to hear what you think and what your experiences of sisterhood have been. If you haven't yet, make sure you join our free Virtual Village by clicking here so you can join the conversation. And if you'd like me to tell you about the Sisterhood when it opens again, then drop me a line at anne@mamafuel.me and I'll keep you posted. Huge love, pivots and all. 

Today’s conversation is being published a week later than planned because I decided to take a REAL break. From the Internet, from work, from everything. But I’ve stepped back into the digital world to share with you a juicy and thought-provoking interview to carry us into the new year. Dr Stephania Sciamano is a healer, a naturopathic doctor, a shaman, a mother and one hell of a perspicacious woman who talks straight about our relationship with money, wealth and receiving being a direct result of how we care for and think of ourselves. In this wide-ranging conversation Stephania and I talk about radically evolving the feminine AND the masculine to create a beautiful dance within ourselves and with the Divine. She shares how her path from pre-med student to shaman was anything but straight, what radical evolution looks like in her daily life and how we can radically evolve ourselves. If talking soul, energy and trust is your jam, buckle up… this conversation is packed with gems about listening to the whispe

Today's guest is a wonderful pixie-souled adventurer whose everyday courage inspires me to step off the beaten track. Patricia Agnew is a mama and a grandmother whose love of life is contagious. Any woman who says that her RV is her soulmate is a woman I definitely want to talk to... and Patricia is top of the list in that category! In this episode we talk about the importance of following the nudges in life and trusting that they'll lead somewhere good, the delicate dance of establishing the right amount of space in multi-generational relationships, and why one of the secrets of happiness is to put yourself FIRST always.  Patricia's nuggets of wisdom will stay with me for a while, and at the end of the podcast I read you a list of 10 things she'd love to have been able to tell her younger self. Here's one of my favourite from our conversation: "Try things, and make sure that you do it in the safety of your "tribe" because it's so comforting to know they'll understand whether you do or you don't go through

In today's episode, I'm recording in my new digs... but with really bad soundproofing (thus the cushion)! With an update on what's been going on at MamaFuel HQ. There's been a lot of change in our neck of the woods, and I've been watching how the stories we tell ourselves cause so. much. resistance. to. change. Oh my goodness.  But change is GOOD, for the most part. Even when you like things the way they are. My question to you is this: is it your true heart urging you to stay comfortable, or is it your ego-dressed-up-like-a-fancy-authority? Because our ego doesn't always have it right; in fact, it's usually messing with you in a bid to keep us small and safe. While comfort zones are good at times, we only grow when we move beyond them. Which is what I'm inviting you to do today in your relationships: step outside your comfort zone. Have a good look at your day-to-day life. Do you have a lot of online friendships? How about in-person relationships? Technology is bringing us together and it's also pushin

Elena Lipson was my first ever self-love mentor. In fact, she is THE Divine Self-Care Mentor, and I credit her and my previous guest Leslie Potter with helping me out of “martyr mama” mode and into grace and spaciousness. Elena is my first guest in this month of focus on self-love. In today’s  conversation we talk about mindful choices, how Elena’s experiences with auto-immune disease led her to explore deep self-care as a path to healing, how she used the positive side of curiosity to imagine a completely different way of living, the BIG decision to homeschool her son and why that helped her grown and evolve personally and profesionally, and so SO so much more. For more information and to find the links we mention in the podcast, head to: http://thecenteredmamaproject.com/podcast/ep028-elena-lipson/

Heather Dawson is a warrior goddess whose warmth, kindness and optimism always light up even the darkest of situations. Good thing, too, because life's thrown her some doozies... When we were just finishing university together, Heather lost her mum to breast cancer, then struggled through miscarriage after miscarriage (7 to be exact) before her first son was born, and another 8 miscarriages before her youngest made his miraculous appearance. Yep, that's 15 miscarriages. Enough to make anyone lose hope. Not long ago, Heather found out that she carried a gene that made it very unlikely she'd live to see her boys become men. So she took action, undergoing a double mastectomy and reconstruction, followed by a hysterectomy. She's committed to sticking around, and I know she will. This lady is one amazing soul. She's navigated grief, loss and uncertainty like no one I've ever seen, and she's one of the happiest, most positive people I know. Cozy up with a cup of tea and enjoy this interview. Click here to find

We have four nationalities in our family, and it often makes for interesting conversations when people ask "where are you from?" Today's guest has four nationalities wrapped up in her one being, and earlier this month she decided to step into one of her nationalities more fully. Sharlene Lopez was born to a Scottish mother of Irish descent and an Iraqui father, adopted by a loving British family and educated in Catholic private schools. To say she's the nexus of many influences doesn't begin to cover it. Living in the British countryside with her Argentine husband and two boys, Sharlene has often felt a bit "other" in her village. Troubled by the racism she's always seen in British society and feeling the plight of immigrants to her country, Sharlene recently decided to explore that "otherness" by, as she puts it, "trying on" one of her identities. She chose to embrace her Iraqui heritage and live for a month as an immigrant Iraqui muslim woman. She learned to wear a hijab and abaya and has been experiencin

You know how sometimes you meet someone and they just zoom into your heart? That's what happened the day I met Anna Saucier with her sweet baby girl strapped to her chest. The two of them were an oasis of deliciousness in a sea of friendly but decidedly adult people. Anna and I got talking about her bumpy journey through infertility to motherhood, the realities of being mama to two small humans under the age of three, and what exhaustion does to your brain. Basically we were instant sisters. When Anna agreed to be my guest for today's episode of MamaFuel: The Podcast I was delighted. Not least because I know at least one mama out there listening will be struggling or will have struggled with infertility. If that's you, I'm sending you so much love. And hope in the form of Anna and another guest I'll have on in a couple of weeks. In today's (long but juicy) episode, @orchidfertilitywellness and talk about how to talk to couples living through infertility, the power of real talk and the importance of women b