So many of today’s moms are not simply here to keep our houses clean, our kids “in line,” and dinner on the table. There’s a lot more going on for those of us who are trying to stop cycles of abuse and prevent the passing down of trauma to future generations. This is contributing hugely to our motherwhelm, and requires more robust resources, rest, and support than we often realize.
It began when I was seventeen and pumping milk in the bathroom of my high school for my now-grown eldest daughter, and has gradually evolved into a tender, fiery conviction to reclaim motherhood from every disempowering personal and cultural story I can wrap my head and heart around.
As an author, life coach, group facilitator, teacher, and mother of four daughters (ages 17, 19, 23, and 29), I’ve spent thousands of hours mentoring and supporting mothers through their process of self-discovery, self-reclamation, and dream realization.
❊ I believe that improving the world starts with improving our relationship with ourselves.
❊ I believe that self-awareness must be coupled with self-compassion in order to be truly transformative and healing.
❊ I believe that vulnerability and sensitivity are superpowers of the most valuable sort.
❊ I believe there is as much to be learned from the sensations in our bodies as any ancient text or modern-day mystic.
❊ I believe that we’re alive during one of the most confusing and most transformative time in history.
❊ I believe that, in the words of Emma Lazarus, “Until we are all free, we are none of us free.”
❊ I believe that our children’s greatest chance at thriving is for us to exemplify thriving for them.
❊ I believe that we all need emotional support and mentorship in order to grow into the best versions of ourselves.
❊ I believe that each of us is here to shine the light of our soul uniquely and powerfully, and that until we do so, our joy and inner peace will be limited.
❊ I believe we need more safe and supportive places to show up authentically, bear witness to one another’s journeys, and celebrate growth.
❊ I believe that awakening, connected, and supported mothers have more world-changing potential than anyone else on the planet.
❊ I require lots of alone time to feel like my best self (INFP), but I’m less introverted than I used to think I was when emotional survival mode was my norm.
❊ I used to dread small talk, but now that my need for frequent deep dives is well met, I actually enjoy it on occasion.
❊ I am almost completely deaf in my left ear. (If I’ve ever ignored you, it wasn’t on purpose.)
❊ I am highly sensitive, though this no longer sabotages me like it used to before I better understood my trauma responses.
❊ My daughters are my greatest teachers and spiritual guides.
❊ The relationships I've cultivated with my inner 9-year-old, inner 17-year-old, and inner 80-year old are some of the richest and most supportive relationships in my life.
Elisha comes to Team RFH with a background in finance training + systems analysis, life coaching, and psychology. She helps things run smoothly on the back end with her keen ability to problem solve, her obsession with systems that run like clockwork, and her warm, kind presence. Living in England, she frequently teaches the team British colloquialisms such as "lurgy" and "my giddy aunt," to name a few. Hula-hooping barefoot helps get her to her happy place.
Brandy is an author (Adult Conversation: A Novel), podcaster (Adult Conversation Podcast), mother, wife, and active part of Team RFH on the design, admin, and community management side. She comes with a compassion-based mindset + coaching background having spent the past decade working as a doula, childbirth educator, and birth trauma mentor. She currently lives in Southern California, and her love languages are sleep and dark humor.
Marisol is an Equity Diversity + Inclusion Teacher/Consultant and the founder and lead consultant for Tepeyac Consulting. Over the past year, she and Beth have worked together decolonizing the MotherWorthy curriculum (which is, and always will be, a work in progress), and exploring blindspots within Beth’s perspectives and offerings. A truly gifted teacher, Marisol brings over twenty years of community engagement, training/facilitation, and policy advocacy experience to her consulting practice. She’s a wholehearted, gentle-fierce, truth telling mama, and we're so fortunate to have her support and guidance.
My work in the world is to keep my heart open (even when doing so is painful), to dismantle systems of oppression (starting with those I’ve internalized), to seek, honor, and revive the sacred feminine, and to hold a lantern for mothers ready to be more effective, joyful changemakers.
If you’re one of those women, I’d love to connect with you and discover whether we’re meant to walk alongside one another for a while. With mad respect for you, mama,