The Alissa Alter Show

Welcome to the belly of the whale, or vortex as I'm also calling it. I'm 9+ months pregnant and this Mother's Day hits different.

In the episode…

• Mother's Day isn't about me and I'm finally accepting that

• An invitation for you this weekend

• Feel whatever TF you need to feel this weekend, we've been sold a bag of lies about the "holiday" anyway

If you're picking up what I'm laying down…

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As always I've got your back, I've got your front, and I've got your undercarriage.

Do you ever ask yourself this? What would a REAL mom do? Adulting and momming definitely make you understand the meme about looking for ana dult in the room and then the horror when you realize YOU are the adult. And it often bring sup some deep, tough questions which this week's guest is going to help guide us through. Not because she's immune to them, but because she's steeped in them too.

In this episode…

• The long, unfinished sentence of motherhood

• How curiosity is our most sacred possession and a threat to the patriarchy

• Our need for safety in order to be curious

• We give permission and power to everyone around us, what is possible when we give them to ourselves also?

• Asking questions and being curious is imperative as is allowing space for those questions to be…

Liz Kimball (MFA, CPC) is a creativity coach, writer, and speaker, dedicated to helping the next generation of women creators produce the major creative works of their lifetime. Creator of The Creative15, and The Original Source Creativity Incubator, Liz's work focuses on catalyzing individual and collective change through the magic of creative process. Liz's work has been featured at Tedx, Oprah.com, The Guggenheim, The New School, The Female Quotient, and at universities and institutions throughout the country. www.lizkimball.com | @Liz Kimball

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As always I've got your back, I've got your front, and I've got your undercarriage.

Did you know I majored in Spanish in college? I did! And I even learned a few things…

In the episode…

• How verbs in Spanish opened my eyes to speaking more specifically in English

• Asshole proofing my life like I asshole proof my improv scenes

• While I may act like an a-hole sometimes, I am not an a-hole.

If you're picking up what I'm laying down…

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Learn more about at www.alissaalter.com

As always I've got your back, I've got your front, and I've got your undercarriage.

What if every time you felt you "should" do something you replaced "should" with "could"? What if those should's became choices YOU got to make? Instead of actions imposed on you? Wouldn't that be so freaking liberating?!?! We think so too.

In this episode…

• The TWO major life events that shifted Tricia's entire view on life and living

• Uncovering the origin of the shoulds

• Turning shoulds into choices

• How effing the shoulds shows up in our selves, our work, and parenting

Tricia Huffman, aka Your Joyologist, is a rock and roll roadie at heart and by first career. She specializes in working with those in the public eye to keep them aligned with who they are and in integrity with their commitments, while also enjoying the life they are living. For over a decade she has been known for sharing real talk with heart, calling you to listen to yourself, F the Shoulds and own who YOU are - because this is YOUR life and it could all end tomorrow.

She is based in Los Angeles, where she is raising her strong-willed, independent, creative daughters and F-ing the shoulds while claiming joy daily.

You can learn more about Tricia and her work at yourjoyologist.com, get her book at ftheshouldsdothewants.com and find

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As always I've got your back, I've got your front, and I've got your undercarriage.

Remember learning about solar systems and oblong spheroids and orbit patterns and ellipses? So fun, right?! Well, today we are talking about solar systems and how they are my new favorite metaphor for ever shifting and changing family dynamics. Are there retrogrades? Maybe! Or are those more astrology than astronomy? Anyway, this will be more philosophical than scientifically accurate, but all of this is based on theories and laws that do actually exist even if my understanding of them is incomplete and surface level.

If you're picking up what I'm laying down…

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As always I've got your back, I've got your front, and I've got your undercarriage.

Dana is an actor, producer, podcast creator and host and deeply curious about the human condition, and how empathy, listening and levity can change the world. She started the podcast (in her closet, next to her Spanx) called I Swear on My Mother's Grave to process the loss of her mother with other people dealing with complex emotions around maternal loss, and not just in death. She got married last year on the patio of her Nana's nursing home, and now lives in Traverse City, MI after over 20 years in Chicago.

In this episode…

• The Disneyfication of motherhood and the expectations that come with it in life and at the end of life

• What it's like to be someone's child

• Losing a parent while they are still here

• Choosing to have to NOT have children

• Going through big life moments and transitions without your mom

If you're picking up what I'm laying down go ahead and follow, subscribe, rate, review, and SHARE this episode!

If you prefer watching episodes, you can now do that on YouTube!

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Learn more at www.alissaalter.com

Follow along on IG @alissaalter

As always I've got your back, I've got your front, and I've got your undercarriage.

While I do sing the opening theme song, this episode is NOT about the hit 90's sitcom Step By Step. No, it's about using what we've learned in the past to make different mistakes, better mistakes, moving forward.

In the episode…

• What I learned in my first marriage and the two rules of dating I used to help me find Jeremy ← My second and forever husband.

• I share a story I wrote about the intense fear, doubt, and anxiety I felt about having a second wedding. NOT about marrying Jeremy. About the wedding.

• How I'm preparing to birth a second baby and the ONE rule I'm applying to my upcoming postpartum experience

• The past isn't the present. It's the past.

• I know I will have a better experience this time because I have the proof that I'm better the second time around

If you're picking up what I'm laying down…

Follow, subscribe, rate, review, and SHARE this episode! If you prefer watching episodes, you can now do that on YouTube!

And don't forget to check out my Blog where we talk about all the things we're not supposed to talk about.

Learn more about at www.alissaalter.com

Follow along on IG @alissaalter

As always I've got your back, I've got your front, and I've got your undercarriage.

Our needs and those of our children are constantly changing: more, less, faster, slower, and on and on. Navigating this changing pace requires us to release perfection and embrace improvement. Focusing on improvement instead of perfection allows us a level of presence, ease, and kindness that…feels really good. What if motherhood felt good? Not that it never does, but if it felt even better?

Tara Stiles is the co-founder of Strala Yoga, best-selling author, and well-being expert. Tara revolutionized yoga for millions, transforming a practice so often seen as foreign, dogmatic, and guru-based, into an everyday movement that supports ease and well-being. Strala Yoga is practiced in more than 100 countries, thousands of Guides lead Strala classes around the globe, and Tara shares daily yoga with thousands of people on the Strala Yoga app. She has been profiled by The New York Times, Times of India, The Times (UK), and featured in most major national and international magazines. Follow her on IG @tarastiles

In this episode…

• How Tara approaches perfectionism

• Adjusting to the 9 to 5ness of motherhood when living a creative life

• Staying present with what each phase and pace of motherhood requires

• Letting go of a fear of ease

• GIVEAWAY! Dm me @alissaalter with the # of times we say…PICKLE in the episode and receive a custom knit hat from Tara Stiles!

If you're picking up what I'm laying down go ahead and follow, subscribe, rate, review, and SHARE this episode!

If you prefer watching episodes, you can now do that on YouTube!

And don't forget to check out my blog where we talk about all the things we're not supposed to talk about.

Learn more at www.alissaalter.com

Follow along on IG @alissaalter

As always I've got your back, I've got your front, and I've got your undercarriage.

You know that manual from your first vacuum cleaner with the extra parts all in a ziploc bag so you don't lose any important parts that you never looked at or used? You have and hold onto owner's manuals for appliances, vehicles, and whatever else comes with one, but when it comes to yourself? You struggle to remember to meet your own basic needs!

• A drive to Connecticut in a fancy car opened up my eyes to my own needs I never knew I had.
• How learning my warning signals like on the dashboard of a car helped me advocate for myself and build the life of my dreams.
• Why I created my very OWN owner's manual and invite you to do the same.

If you're picking up what I'm laying down…

Click here to learn more and start creating YOUR Owner's Manual today!

Learn more at www.alissaalter.com

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As always I've got your back, I've got your front, and I've got your undercarriage.

Zibby Owens is an author, podcaster, publisher, CEO, and mother of four. Zibby founded Zibby Owens Media, a privately-held media company designed to help busy people live their best lives by connecting to books and each other. One division is Moms Don't Have Time To, the home for Zibby's podcasts, publications (including two anthologies), and communities. The other is Zibby Books, a publishing home for fiction and memoir which she co-founded with Leigh Newman. Her award-winning podcast, Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books, has been downloaded millions of times. She is a regular columnist for Good Morning America, Katie Couric Media, and Moms Don't Have Time to Write on Medium. Her upcoming memoir, Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, comes out July 1, 2022 (Little A). Her first children's book Princess Charming (Flamingo/Penguin Random House) debuted April 19, 2022 and will be followed by a second. She lives in New York with her husband and four children. For more information, visit www.zibbyowens.com and follow her on Instagram @zibbyowens.

In this episode we discuss:

• The scariest thing Zibby has ever done…hint it happened four times over.
• We reviewed the power of The No Plan Plan.
• Why now is the time she is publishing her memoir Bookends.
• How Zibby knows what step to take next as she pursues her creative dreams and builds her media company.
• Birthing a book is a birth and how Zibby is going to work on a postpartum plan after her official pub day!

If you're picking up what I'm laying down…

Download your FREE 5 minute meditation to start your day with confidence and ease.

Learn more at www.alissaalter.com

Follow along on IG @alissaalter

As always I've got your back, I've got your front, and I've got your undercarriage.