Sometimes, on occasions that are getting rarer and rarer, Instagram can be a place of great discoveries, and Becky Barnicoat was one of those for me. A cartoonist published by The New Yorker, Grazia, The New Statesman, The Guardian, BuzzFeed, New York Magazine, Private Eye and Netflix, she had recently published her deeply funny and touching graphic memoir “Cry When the Baby Cries”. For years, her observations of daily life and motherhood made me burst out laughing (often when I needed it the most). So join me as I finally get to laugh together with Becky! Hear her inspiring story about becoming a succesful cartoonist after years of hearing she wasn’t good enough, and was dreaming of a job that didn’t exist. And learn wise lessons from her and her mom Catherina about motherhood being a source the fulfilment, about creating a warm home through routine and light, about teaching our duaghters through our stories, and breaking generational cycles.

To learn more about Becky, her work, and her new book, visit her website here, or her Instagram profile here. 

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To contact Ana, to be a guest, or suggest a guest, please send your mail to: [email protected]

For more about “Thank You, Mama", please visit: http://www.thankyoumama.net

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Wanjiku Kiarie, an accountant and podcaster from Kenya, talks about her mama Frasia, a teacher who raised and supported her four daughters during her husband’s battle with drinking. The episode is bursting with lessons on finding God; forgiving and giving; working hard, saving and investing; raising amazing women; and honesty.

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To contact Ana, to be a guest, or suggest a guest, please send your mail to: [email protected]

For more about “Thank You, Mama", please visit: http://www.thankyoumama.net

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This episode is a bit different, because in this episode you host Ana Tajder will tell you her guest’s mother’s story. To Ana’s big shock, because of technical difficulties with recording between US and China, the recording of this beautiful interview turned out blank. But Ana believed mama Chen’s inspiring story had to be shared, so she shared it herself, using notes she took during the interview. Ana’s guest is a Beijing based artist and industrial design professor Xue Hongyan. Xue talks about her mom Chen who, after a life of hard work in a factory, started her own business at 50. Listen for a glimpse into a life of a working-class woman in China, and for important lessons on hard work, resilience, and courage to start a new professional phase in your 50s. 

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To contact Ana, to be a guest, or suggest a guest, please send your mail to: [email protected]

For more about “Thank You, Mama", please visit: http://www.thankyoumama.net

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Author and podcast host Ronit Plank, author of “Home is a Made-Up Place” and “When She Comes Back”, talks about her mom who left six year old Ronit and her four year old sister to move to India and follow guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, the center of Netflix documentary “Wild Wild Country”. In this incredible story of personal development, Ronit shares how she forgave her mother and created a strong relationship with her. We learn that while most people don’t change, some do; that the way people treat you shows who they are - not who you are; the importance of expressing feelings in a vulnerable and constructive way; and to always use more herbs than the recipe calls for.

To learn more about Ronit and her work, visit her website here. 

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To contact Ana, to be a guest, or suggest a guest, please send your mail to: [email protected]

For more about “Thank You, Mama", please visit: http://www.thankyoumama.net

Connect with Ana on social media:

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Lawyer from Tanzania specialized in human rights, Ashura Kayupayupa, talks about her mother Rose, who, after her husband was killed in a car accident, was disowned by his family. Ashura tells us about widow abuse and witch-hunt, a problem that’s still widespread in Africa. But mama Rose stayed strong, re-built her life and started her small agricultural business. Rose teaches us about hope, endurance, hard work, patience, and focusing on your own life. We also learn not to ponder on why something happened to us, but to make the best out of any situation.

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To contact Ana, to be a guest, or suggest a guest, please send your mail to: [email protected]

For more about “Thank You, Mama", please visit: http://www.thankyoumama.net

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Emmy-winning ESPN broadcaster Jenn Hildreth and FOX Sports Senior Vice President Talent Relations Aimee Leone, talk about “Tough as a Mother: Women in Sports, Working Moms, and the Shared Traits That Empower Us All”, their anthology offering an intimate look at the lives of iconic women in sports and their journeys of balancing family and career. Jenn also talks about her mom Sandra, from whom she learned to love, have courage and strength, always do her best, and find her own way of doing things. Aimee talks about her mom Diane, from whom she learned to always keep evolving, be accepting of others, face her fears, and not to overthink. Aimee and Jenn also talk about what “having it all” means and if it’s possible, about moxie, prioritizing, and lifting others.

To order "Tough as a Mother" please visit here. 

Subscribe to Ana's new "Mama Loves…” newsletter here. 

To contact Ana, to be a guest, or suggest a guest, please send your mail to: [email protected]

For more about “Thank You, Mama", please visit: http://www.thankyoumama.net

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A published poet, author of “Novice”, and mom, Nida Sophrasarun talks about how her poetry is influenced by her family on two ends: on one end, it was her family’s inability to communicate emotions that lead her to finding her voice in poetry. On the other end, the birth of her son lead her to finding herself again through writing. Nida talks about her Thai mom Kobkua, “a tiger”, as Nida describes her, from whom Nida learned important lessons, in spite of their challenging relationship. Nida talks about showing love and connecting through food; about the solace of mysticism; about finding her unique voice; and understanding what really belongs to us - and what is just an illusion. Nida also read her poem "Starling" for us.

To order Nida's book of poems "Novice", go here. 

You can read Nida's beautiful poem Violent Femmes here.

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For more about “Thank You, Mama", please visit: http://www.thankyoumama.net

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Widely known as the “Mother of Mindfulness”, Dr. Ellen Langer is a foundational figure in the study of mindfulness outside of meditation traditions. Dr. Langer is the first woman to ever receive tenure in psychology at Harvard, where she has researched, in her own lab, mindfulness for over 40 years. Dr. Langer has published well over 200 research articles and 13 best-selling books, (“Mindfulness”, “The Mindful Body”, “The Art of Noticing”, “Counter Clockwise”, and “The Power of Mindful Learning”) in which she has written on the illusion of control, aging, stress, decision-making, and health without meditation. In our interview, Dr. Langer talks about these topics, and also shares lessons she has learned from her American mom Sylvia.

To learn more about Dr. Langer, visit her website here.

To order her latest book, visit here. 

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For more about “Thank You, Mama", please visit: http://www.thankyoumama.net

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A mother, a US Marine Corps combat veteran and a Navy psychologist, Dr. Julienne Shin, talks about lessons she learned through her difficult relationship with her Filipino mom Corazon. We learn about the impact of a mother's relationships with her child at a young age, about not holding on to your parents’ pain; and about the importance of emotional intelligence. Julienne also shares some amazing things she learned through writing her dissertation about mothers in combat.

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To contact Ana, to be a guest, or suggest a guest, please send your mail to: [email protected]

To learn more about "Thank You, mama" creative writing workshop, visit here.

For more about “Thank You, Mama", please visit: http://www.thankyoumama.net

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Authors of “What To Do When I’m Gone” and “What to Do When You Get Dumped”, a mother-daughter team, share their mothers’ lessons. Suzy Hopkins is a former newspaper reporter and magazine publisher. Her daughter Hallie Bateman is a freelance writer and illustrator based in Los Angeles whose work has been published by The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Awl and others. Suzy talks about her mother, a soft-spoken librarian, and mother of six, who suffered domestic abuse and managed to leave the marriage after 30 years - only after she found out her husband had a mistress. We learn about leaving the moment somebody lifts a hand to you; about asking for help; talking about elephants in the room; and knowing what you have the right to expect from a relationship. While Suzy learned what not to follow, Hallie learned from Suzy’s example: how important it is to talk about everything; the power of unconditional love; and turning the sense of discovery and question-asking into art. Suzy also talks about recovering from grief after her husband or 30 years surprisingly asked for a divorce, a process which took four years, during which she wrote highly inspiring and comforting “What to do When You Get Dumped”.

To learn more about Suzy, follow her on Instagram here. 

To learn more about Hallie, visit her website here. 

Subscribe to Ana's new "Mama Loves…” newsletter here. 

To contact Ana, to be a guest, or suggest a guest, please send your mail to: [email protected]

To learn more about "Thank You, mama" creative writing workshop, visit here.

For more about “Thank You, Mama", please visit: http://www.thankyoumama.net

Connect with Ana on social media:

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