Last week, I went to a doctors appointment that I’ve been putting off for a couple of years out of fear. And the appointment brought up some stuff I’ve been pushing to the side to tackle head on since I found out I had the BRCA 1 gene mutation 3 years ago.

All of you know that having the BRCA 1 mutation is linked to my risk to breast cancer, but what many of you probably don’t know is that it’s also linked to ovarian cancer — which means that if any family planning is involved in my world, it HAS to happen before I turn 35.

I’ve been unpacking this part of my story a lot behind closed doors, but I’ve never done it with all of you so, in true Amanda in the mess fashion, I’m opening the door to this conversation in todays episode.

Things I talk about in todays episode:

how to know if we’re supposed to be a parent

choosing to have kids in the climate we live in

the different tenants of the relationship escalator

how 3 years ago, I went from knowing I wanted kids no matter what to not wanting them overnight

the ethics around having kids with a genetic mutation of this nature

the nuclear family

polyamory, ovarian cancer, the BRCA gene and beyond