Motherhood By Any Means
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I’ve been wondering about how change really happens. So I invited a dozen really big thinkers (and feelers) to talk to me on Kelly Corrigan Wonders and at the end of each conversation, I summarized my takeaways in the hopes that they will be useful to all of us as we inch our way toward something better.
On Becoming a Mother:
When you are a woman who is dead sure she wants to be a mother and the universe is not cooperating, how can you bend reality to your dreams? In this episode, two therapist-friends of mine, Lori Gottlieb (best selling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone) and Tracy Defina, reflect on finding their way into the job they always wanted: parenthood and some of the things they learned along the way:
1. Being a definitely supportive person is a most admirable mission.
2. Health insurance is a non-negotiable.
3. It’s heavenly to hear a very smart woman say repeatedly, “I don’t have the answers. I don’t know for sure.”
4. Idiot compassion is sweet and not super helpful. You can’t always trust your best friend’s well-intended blanket support.
5. When shopping for sperm, get to know the staffers who hand out the specimen cups — they know which guy looks like George Clooney.
6. People change their minds all the time. It is important to make space for that.
7. Maybe God is in the science.
Many thanks to Lori Gottlieb and Tracy Defina for sharing their stories. Learn more about Lori here.
