The Sparkle Project

Have you ever wished life felt a little lighter? In this episode, Emily is joined by Morgan Jackson, founder of Light 56, to explore how small, intentional habits can help you experience more joy, gratitude, playfulness, and peace in your everyday life.

Morgan shares the mindset shifts that transformed her own life after a difficult season and explains why feeling lighter isn't about doing more, but actually noticing what truly brings you joy, giving yourself grace, and creating simple rhythms that help you reconnect with yourself.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why life and motherhood can feel so heavy
• What it really means to "feel lighter"
• Morgan's LIGHT Framework for living with more intention
• Simple habits that help you build lasting change
• How to embrace imperfection and still make meaningful progress
• Finding joy in ordinary, everyday moments

This episode is an invitation to consider what light is needed in your own life, and shift towards bringing more of that energy into your day-to-day - all to create a life that feels aligned with your truest self.

🔗 Connect with Morgan:

Instagram: @lightfiftysix
Website: www.light56.com

✨ Let’s keep the convo going:

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

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Summer is supposed to feel fun and relaxing... so why does it often leave moms feeling completely exhausted? In this episode, Emily is uncovering the invisible labor of summer as a mom. From planning vacations and coordinating childcare to carrying the mental load of keeping everyone fed, entertained, and happy, summer often creates more work and stress instead of less.

If you've ever felt guilty for counting down the days until school starts, questioned whether you're doing enough to make summer "magical," or wondered why everyone else seems to be enjoying the season more than you, this conversation is for you.

Emily unpacks the unrealistic expectations placed on mothers during summer break and shares a fresh perspective that can help you release some of the pressure for the rest of the season and beyond.

If this episode resonated with you, share it with another mom who could use the reminder that she's already doing enough.

✨ 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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Many moms move through life feeling disconnected from themselves, stuck in survival mode, or wondering where their sense of self went after motherhood. In this episode, Emily is joined by Sara Putney, trauma-informed somatic breathwork facilitator, host of The Modern Matriarch Podcast, and founder of Remothering Mamas, for a powerful conversation about reconnecting with your body, your nervous system, and your innate power.

Together, they explore how somatic healing and breathwork can help you move beyond autopilot, reconnect with your true self, and begin breaking generational patterns without relying on willpower alone.

In this episode, they discuss:

• Why so many moms feel stuck in survival mode and disconnected from themselves
• How the nervous system influences our emotions, reactions, and sense of identity
• How body-led healing complements traditional mindset work and therapy
• Simple practices to build a stronger mind-body connection
• Why tuning into your body can help you make more aligned decisions
• The ripple effect of healing yourself for future generations

This conversation offers gentle, practical ways to begin listening to the wisdom your body has been holding all along. 

🔗 Connect with Sara:

Instagram: @remotheringmamas
Website: www.remotheringmamas.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! 

Episode Topics:

• somatic healing
• somatic breathwork
• breathwork
• body-led healing
• nervous system regulation
• nervous system healing
• mind-body connection
• reconnecting with yourself
• self-discovery
• self-trust
• innate power
• healing journey
• motherhood
• identity after motherhood
• motherhood and identity
• survival mode
• emotional regulation
• generational trauma
• childhood trauma
• trauma healing
• trauma-informed healing
• reconnecting with your body
• body awareness
• intuition
• healing for moms

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Mothers today have more access to resources and information than ever before, but the result isn't necessarily greater confidence in our parenting journey. Instead, many moms feel overwhelmed by the constant input. If you find yourself questioning every parenting decision, carrying constant mom guilt, and feeling like you've lost trust in yourself, this conversation is for you. 

Kaitlyn Dove, a therapist, coach, and mom of two, is joining The Sparkle Project to explore why motherhood feels so emotionally loud in today's world. Between social media, Google, AI, comparison, and the pressure to get everything "right," many moms are left feeling disconnected from themselves and unsure of their own instincts.

Kaitlyn shares why rebuilding self-trust is one of the most important things we can do as mothers and why awareness, not perfection, is the foundation for lasting change.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why modern motherhood feels more overwhelming than ever
• How social media, Google, and AI can undermine self-trust
• The connection between mom guilt and unrealistic expectations
• Why awareness is the first step toward breaking generational patterns
• How motherhood changes your identity and why that's okay
• The importance of defining your own values before seeking parenting advice
• Practical ways to reconnect with yourself in everyday motherhood

If you've been feeling overwhelmed by modern motherhood, this conversation will remind you that you don't need another parenting script. You need to reconnect with yourself.

🔗 Connect with Kaitlyn:

Instagram: @thenurturedtheory
Website: www.thenurturedtheory.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! 

Episode Topics:

• modern motherhood
• overwhelmed mom
• motherhood in the age of social media
• trust yourself as a mom
• mom guilt
• maternal mental health
• motherhood burnout
• how social media affects motherhood
• parenting advice
• parenting confidence
• millennial motherhood
• identity in motherhood
• motherhood identity
• emotional overwhelm
• parenting in the digital age
• comparison in motherhood
• motherhood expectations
• breaking generational cycles
• cycle breaking
• motherhood and mental health
• postpartum identity
• motherhood coaching
• therapist for moms
• reconnecting with yourself after motherhood
• motherhood and self-worth
• motherhood mental load
• finding yourself after becoming a mom
• parenting without comparison
• overcoming mom guilt

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If you've ever felt like you need to become a better version of yourself before you deserve self-love, this episode is for you. In this solo episode, Emily shares the perspective that transformed how she thinks about self-love and why it has nothing to do with being perfect. Instead, it's about the small decisions we make every day that either reinforce self-sacrifice or build genuine self-love over time.

This episode covers:

• What self-love actually means
• Why self-care alone isn't enough
• How boundaries build self-worth
• The daily choices that shape your relationship with yourself
• Why loving yourself helps your children learn to do the same

You deserve your own love and care, and this episode is one small step towards a life of more self-love (and all the good things that come with it).

✨ 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 changes everything, including the way we see ourselves. But what happens when the support you expected never arrives? And how do you reconnect with yourself when you're carrying the mental load of caring for everyone else? In this episode, Emily sits down with Julia Lotin, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, maternal mental health advocate, and founder of Melanin Mass Moms, to explore the powerful role community plays in helping moms navigate identity shifts, isolation, and the journey back to themselves.

Julia shares her own experience of feeling alone as a new mother, why she created a community that now serves thousands of moms of color, and how support systems can become a critical protective factor for maternal mental health. Together, they discuss the reality of modern motherhood, the pressure to do it all, and why many moms struggle in silence even when surrounded by people.

The episode explores:

• Why so many moms feel isolated, even when they have support
• The connection between community and maternal mental health
• What it really means to reconnect with yourself after having children
• The power of culturally affirming support spaces
• Why asking for help is a crucial act of self-care
• Practical ways to begin building your village
• Small daily practices that can help you feel more like yourself again

If you've ever felt disconnected from yourself, longed for a village, or wondered how to start finding your way back, this conversation is for you.

🔗 Connect with Julia:

Instagram: @journeytoselfservices and @melaninmassmoms
Website: www.journeytoselfservices.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 has a way of exposing wounds that may otherwise have stayed locked away under the surface. In this powerful conversation, Emily sits down with EMDR therapist, coach, and Healing Mothers Club host Danik Bernier to explore the connection between motherhood, intergenerational trauma, and the complex process of breaking family patterns. Together, they unpack why becoming a mother can bring unresolved experiences to the surface, how trauma can live in the body for generations, and why true healing involves more than simply deciding to do things differently.

Danik shares her own journey of uncovering generational patterns within her family history, the role of the nervous system in cycle-breaking work, and why creating new patterns can feel just as challenging as letting old ones go.

The episode explores:

• What "cycle breaking" actually means, and why cycle creation is a crucial component
• Why motherhood can act as a portal for healing
• The connection between intergenerational trauma and parenting
• How trauma and attachment patterns can be passed through generations
• The role of the nervous system in parenting triggers 
• Practical ways to support yourself while raising children

If you've ever wondered why certain parenting moments feel bigger than they should, why motherhood can feel unexpectedly triggering, or how to navigate healing while raising children, this conversation offers a compassionate and thought-provoking perspective.

🔗 Connect with Danik:

Instagram: @healingmothersclub and @liberatedtherapistsclub
Podcast: Healing Mothers' Club

✨ 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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This episode is unlike any other! To celebrate 200 episodes of The Sparkle Project (formerly Worthy Mother Podcast), the microphone is turned around as Emily steps into the guest seat and opens up about the personal journey that has shaped both her life and this podcast.

Joined by her friend and Mom Friends Collective co-founder Breanne Smith, Emily reflects on becoming a mother at 23, navigating a divorce after more than a decade-long relationship, leaving a career in teaching, and learning who she was outside of the roles she thought she was supposed to play.

Together, they explore identity, people-pleasing, motherhood, healing, community, and what it means to create a life that feels aligned, even when it looks different than you imagined.

This conversation is a celebration of growth, self-discovery, and the many ways motherhood can transform us.

🔗 Check out The Mom Friends Collective:

Instagram: @momfriendscollective
Website: www.momfriendscollective.com

🔗 Connect with Breanne:

Instagram: @breazieboozhoo
Podcast: The Bloomera Podcast

✨ 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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Have you ever looked in the mirror and wondered where you went after becoming a mom? In this episode, Emily sits down with licensed mental health counselor, mom of two, and Road to Mama founder Ali Colpack for a powerful conversation about identity loss in motherhood and the hidden pressure of performative motherhood.

Together, they explore why so many mothers feel disconnected from themselves, how social media and societal expectations influence the way we parent.  They also discuss what it actually looks like to reconnect with your intuition without abandoning the version of yourself motherhood has shaped. Ali shares practical ways moms can begin rebuilding trust with themselves, creating healthier boundaries, and integrating who they were before motherhood with who they are becoming today.

The episode covers:

• Matrescence and why identity shifts are a normal part of motherhood
• The truth about performative motherhood
• Recognizing when you're parenting from pressure instead of intuition
• The connection between identity loss, burnout, resentment, and mom guilt
• Why "finding yourself again" may not be the goal
• How to reintegrate your identity after becoming a mom

🔗 Connect with Ali:

Instagram: @hiroadtomama
Website: www.hiroadtomama.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

Motherhood was supposed to feel natural. So why do so many moms secretly feel overwhelmed, exhausted, resentful, anxious, or like they’re failing? In this episode, Emily sits down with therapist-trained life coach and Good Girl, Bad Mom author Dr. Danielle Dowling to unpack her groundbreaking framework: The Motherhood Setup.

Danielle explains how modern mothers are caught in the collision of three overwhelming forces:

• The Motherhood Fantasy that says motherhood should feel natural, effortless, and fulfilling at all times
• Good Girl Conditioning that teaches girls and women to stay agreeable and selfless
• The Invisible Labor that quietly consumes mothers every single day

Together, they explore identity loss after becoming a mom, the emotional weight women carry behind closed doors, and why so many mothers internalize overwhelm as personal failure instead of recognizing the impossible expectations placed upon them.

This episode is for any mom who has ever questioned whether she is doing enough.

🔗 Connect with Dr. Danielle Dowling:

Instagram: @iamdanielledowling
Website: www.danielle-dowling.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