The Sparkle Project

Millennial motherhood is asking women to do it all: Build careers, raise emotionally healthy children, break generational cycles, maintain relationships, and somehow find time to take care of themselves. But what is the cost of these expectations on maternal mental health?

In this episode, Emily talks with therapist Maria “Ria” Terneus about the realities of modern motherhood, maternal anxiety, reproductive justice, and the systemic pressures affecting women's wellbeing. From the pressure of social media comparison and the loss of the village to mom rage, mental health, and the struggle to balance work and family, Ria offers an important perspective on why so many mothers feel overwhelmed.

They also explore what reproductive justice really means, why women's reproductive health deserves more attention, and how conditions like PMDD and endometriosis can affect mental wellness. 

Most importantly, this conversation challenges the idea that mothers should have to figure everything out alone. Ria shares how self-compassion, community, collective care, and finding meaning in everyday moments can help mothers reconnect with themselves.

If you've been feeling overwhelmed by the expectations of motherhood, this episode will remind you that your well-being matters, too.

🔗 Connect with Ria:

Instagram: @itssincerelyria and @beyondlimitspsychotherapy
Website: www.beyondlimitspsychotherapy.com

✨ Let’s keep the convo going:

Follow Emily on Instagram → @honestlyemilyrose
Follow the podcast on TikTok → @thesparkleprojectpod

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Many millennials find themselves a part of The Sandwich Generation, raising kids while caring for aging parents. In this episode, Emily is joined by co-hosts of The Millennial Sandwich podcast, geriatrician Dr. Anita Chandra and parenting journalist Zara Hanawalt.

They explore the realities of many millennial women juggling motherhood, daughterhood, and caregiving, and how these responsibilities impact mental load, identity, and well-being. They discuss the invisible labor of caring for multiple generations, the pressure on women to do it all, and how to prioritize yourself without adding another expectation to your already full plate.

This conversation is equal parts validation and encouragement - because the reality is that being a part of the Millennial Sandwich is hard, but talking about it does make a difference. 

🔗 Connect with Anita and Zara:

Instagram: @themillennialsandwich @itsdoctoranita @zarahanawalt
TikTok: @themillennialsandwich @itsdoctoranita @zara0305
Podcast: The Millennial Sandwich 

✨ Let’s keep the convo going:

Follow Emily on Instagram → @honestlyemilyrose
Follow the podcast on TikTok → @thesparkleprojectpod

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Feeling stuck in a rut? Between motherhood, work, relationships, and the never-ending to-do list, it's easy to fall into autopilot and forget to make time for new experiences that are just for you.

But trying new things isn't just about having fun or switching up your routine. It's an opportunity to build confidence, discover new interests, reconnect with yourself, and find more joy in everyday life.

In this episode, Emily explores why intentionally trying new things can be so powerful, especially for moms who spend so much of their time and energy focused on everyone else. She shares how embracing new experiences has helped her grow and rediscover parts of herself since becoming a mom, plus the birthday-inspired challenge she's taking on: trying 33 new things before turning 33!

Consider this episode your invitation to break out of autopilot and try something new. You never know what you might discover!

✨ Let’s keep the convo going:

Follow Emily on Instagram → @honestlyemilyrose
Follow the podcast on TikTok → @thesparkleprojectpod

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Healing from trauma while navigating the challenges of motherhood is no easy task - but it can be an opportunity to break cycles and create generational change. In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Breanne Smith is joining the podcast for a conversation about healing in motherhood and turning pain into purpose.

As a survivor of domestic violence and sexual assault, Breanne knows firsthand that trauma doesn't simply disappear as life moves forward. She opens up about navigating complex PTSD and chronic illness while raising two young boys, the unexpected ways motherhood can bring past trauma to the surface, and the healing she's found through her relationships with her children, her husband, and her community.

The conversation also explores what it means to raise the next generation of boys -  from teaching consent and respecting boundaries to encouraging emotional expression and challenging the "boys will be boys" mentality. Emily and Breanne discuss the important role parents can play in breaking generational cycles and creating a different future.

The episode touches on:

• The realities of parenting while healing from domestic violence, sexual assault, and complex PTSD
• How motherhood can both activate past trauma and create opportunities for healing
• Raising boys to understand consent, respect boundaries, and express
• Breaking generational cycles and challenging harmful expectations of boys and men
• Post-traumatic growth and turning painful experiences into purpose
• How to stay informed, engaged, and hopeful without becoming overwhelmed by the world around us

If this conversation resonates with you, share it with someone who could benefit from hearing it. 

🔗 Check out Mom Friends Collective:

Instagram: @momfriendscollective
Website: www.momfriendscollective.com
Shop: Motherhood is Political Collection

🔗 Connect with Breanne:

Instagram: @breazieboozhoo
TikTok: @breazieboozhoo
Website: www.bloomera.co

✨ Let’s keep the convo going:

Follow Emily on Instagram → @honestlyemilyrose
Follow the podcast on TikTok → @thesparkleprojectpod

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If this episode encouraged you, share it with a fellow mom and leave a 5-star review! 

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You can love your life and family and feel grateful for what you have - and still want more. In this episode, Emily sits down with life and mindset coach Zahra Premji to talk about what happens when the life you’ve built no longer feels as fulfilling as you thought it would. After experiencing burnout and realizing she had spent years ignoring the voice telling her she wanted something different, Zahra made a major career pivot and began learning what it meant to create a life that didn’t just look good, but actually felt good too.

Together, Emily and Zahra explore why so many women lose touch with what they want while caring for everyone else, the guilt that can surface when you admit you’re dissatisfied, and why wanting more doesn’t mean you’re ungrateful for what you already have. 

They also talk about why fulfillment doesn’t necessarily require blowing up your life or making a massive change. Sometimes, reconnecting with yourself starts by creating a little space to listen, questioning the stories that have kept you stuck, and taking one small step toward something you want.

In this conversation, you’ll hear about:

• Why it’s so easy to lose yourself in your roles and responsibilities
• The connection between feeling unfulfilled, resentment, overwhelm, and burnout
• How to start figuring out what you actually want
• Why your brain may try to talk you out of making a change
• The internal shifts that can make external changes easier
• The power of saying yes to yourself more often

If you’ve found yourself wanting more and feeling bad about it, this conversation is an invitation to stop treating that desire like a problem and start getting curious about what it might be telling you.

🔗 Connect with Zahra:

Instagram: @zahrapremjicoaching

✨ Let’s keep the convo going:

Follow Emily on Instagram → @honestlyemilyrose
Follow the podcast on TikTok → @thesparkleprojectpod

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If this episode encouraged you, share it with a fellow mom and leave a 5-star review! 

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If you’re a mom with ADHD, keeping up with work, kids, schedules, household tasks, and your own needs can sometimes feel like pure chaos. In this episode, Emily shares five things that have genuinely made her life easier as a mom with ADHD.

After being diagnosed with ADHD in her late 20s, Emily has spent years learning how to work with her brain instead of constantly fighting against it. That has meant experimenting with planning systems, creating more visible organization at home, finding the right balance between structure and flexibility, talking things through when she feels stuck, and making everyday tasks more enjoyable.

She also gets into one of the biggest shifts of all: self-acceptance. Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with me?” she’s learning to ask, “How can I make this work for me?”

ADHD or not, if you've felt overwhelmed by everything motherhood asks you to juggle, this conversation offers ideas for creating systems that work better for you.

Want a Laurel Denise planner? Head to www.laureldenise.com and use code SPARKLE10 for 10% off your order. (*Disclaimer: This is an affiliate code, and I do receive a commission when this code is used.)

✨ Let’s keep the convo going:

Follow Emily on Instagram → @honestlyemilyrose
Follow the podcast on TikTok → @thesparkleprojectpod

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If this episode encouraged you, share it with a fellow mom and leave a 5-star review! 

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Does your child’s success ever feel like a reflection of whether you’re doing a “good enough” job as a mom? Motherhood can bring our own childhood experiences, perfectionism, people-pleasing, and need for external validation to the surface, sometimes without us even realizing it.

In this episode, Emily talks with Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional Anuja Khadka about self-worth in motherhood, inner child healing, mom guilt, social media comparison, and what can happen when we tie our identity as mothers to our children’s outcomes.

Anuja shares how she recognized this pattern in her own motherhood journey and explains why a child’s milestones, achievements, and struggles aren’t a report card on a mother’s worth. They also dig into how your own childhood wounds can show up in parenting: a toddler’s tantrum, your child’s school experience, or even a seemingly small everyday moment can sometimes trigger an emotional response that feels much bigger than the situation itself. Anuja explains why noticing those reactions can offer an opportunity to get curious about what’s underneath them.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:
• Why moms can tie their self-worth to their children’s achievements
• The difference between responsibility and control in motherhood
• How childhood experiences can shape our need for external validation
• Social media comparison and the pressure of the “perfect mom”
• Moving from external validation toward internal validation
• Reclaiming your identity beyond the role of mom

🔗 Connect with Anuja:

Instagram: @thatbrowngirltherapist
Website: www.therapycocoon.com

✨ Let’s keep the convo going:

Follow Emily on Instagram → @honestlyemilyrose
Follow the podcast on TikTok → @thesparkleprojectpod

Subscribe + Review:
If this episode encouraged you, share it with a fellow mom and leave a 5-star review! 

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Motherhood can be beautiful, meaningful, exhausting, messy, overwhelming, and funny, sometimes all at once. So why does social media make it look like everyone else has it figured out? Emily Feret, mom, influencer, and author of Normalizing Normal: Motherhood Without the Filter, joins Emily to talk about taking the shame out of the parts of motherhood we’re often afraid to admit out loud.

Emily shares how becoming a mom challenged the version of motherhood she thought she was supposed to live up to, and how showing the messy, imperfect parts of her life online helped millions of other women feel less alone. From messy homes and mom guilt to mental health, identity, and the pressure to get motherhood “right,” this conversation is a reminder that struggling doesn’t mean you’re failing.

Emily also opens up about building confidence through vulnerability, learning to tune out criticism online, pursuing big dreams, and why mothers are allowed to invest time and energy into themselves without guilt.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• What “normalizing normal” really means and how the movement began
• The impact social media’s motherhood highlight reel can have on how we see ourselves
• Why a messy home isn’t a reflection of your worth, work ethic, or ability as a mom
• Using humor to take some of the shame and seriousness out of motherhood
• Mom guilt, mental health, ADHD, and learning to talk openly about the hard things
• Embracing the mom you are instead of chasing the mom you thought you would be
• Giving yourself permission to have hobbies, pursue dreams, and experience joy simply because you enjoy it

This episode is for every mom whose life doesn't look perfect. Tune in, and feel a little less alone in your messiness!

🔗 Connect with Emily Feret:

Instagram: @emilyjeanneferet
TikTok: @emilyjeanne333
Book: Normalizing Normal: Motherhood Without the Filter

✨ Let’s keep the convo going:

Follow Emily on Instagram → @honestlyemilyrose
Follow the podcast on TikTok → @thesparkleprojectpod

Subscribe + Review:
If this episode encouraged you, share it with a fellow mom and leave a 5-star review! 

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In the aftermath of divorce, there is a lot of newness to navigate. What does life look like as a single parent? How do I parent through grief and rebuilding? And who even am I in this new season of life and parenthood?

In this solo episode, Emily shares how learning to read tarot and establishing a consistent tarot practice has helped her reconnect with herself post-divorce. From becoming a tool for self-reflection to creating opportunities for connection, learning, and fun, Emily explores the potential benefits of tarot for all moms at any stage, but particularly those going through or rebuilding after a divorce. 

Whether you've considered creating a tarot practice in your own life before or not, this episode will help you see how tarot can help you reconnect with yourself outside of your role as a mother. 

💻 Resources mentioned in this episode:

~ *Free* Weekly Tarot Reset Spread

~ Check out the Guided Tarot Box Set shared in the episode. (Affiliate disclosure: This is an affiliate link. The podcast creator will earn a commission if you purchase through this link.)

✨ Let’s keep the convo going:

Follow Emily on Instagram → @honestlyemilyrose
Follow the podcast on TikTok → @thesparkleprojectpod

Subscribe + Review:
If this episode encouraged you, share it with a fellow mom and leave a 5-star review! 

Send us Fan Mail

Divorce is often framed as a failure or loss. But for many, it can be a profound opportunity to intentionally reset and purposefully decide what's next. In this episode of The Sparkle Project, Emily sits down with divorce recovery coach Leah Marie Mazur to explore how divorce and other major life transitions can become opportunities to reconnect with yourself, rebuild self-trust, and create a life that feels more aligned with who you are now.

Drawing from her own experience with divorce and the women she supports through divorce recovery, Leah shares how self-abandonment can quietly show up through people pleasing, ignored boundaries, and constantly looking outside yourself for answers. She and Emily talk about what changes when you begin checking in with yourself again and why rebuilding doesn’t require transforming your entire life overnight.

They also explore the unique experience of navigating divorce as a mom, including how to make room for your own emotions while supporting your children and why kids may benefit more from seeing healthy ways of navigating adversity than from seeing a parent who appears to have everything together.

In this conversation, you’ll hear about:

• How people pleasing can disconnect you from your own wants and needs
• Why keeping small promises to yourself can rebuild self-trust
• Reframing divorce as an opportunity to reflect, reset, and make different choices
• Rediscovering your interests and identity after years of prioritizing everyone else
• How hobbies, new experiences, and community can support your confidence
• Caring for your emotional well-being while parenting through divorce

If you’re navigating divorce, starting over after another major life transition, or simply realizing you’ve lost touch with yourself somewhere along the way, this episode is an invitation to ask a new question: What do I want my life to look like from here?

🔗 Connect with Leah Marie Mazur:

Instagram: @mindfullyready
TikTok: @mindfullyready
Website: www.mindfullyready.com

✨ Let’s keep the convo going:

Follow Emily on Instagram → @honestlyemilyrose
Follow the podcast on TikTok → @thesparkleprojectpod

Subscribe + Review:
If this episode encouraged you, share it with a fellow mom and leave a 5-star review! 

Send us Fan Mail