Ask Maryann Walsh if she's a risk-taker and she'd say no. That's what makes her story so powerful.

Registered dietician. Consulting business. 2 TED talks. PhD candidate. And at 40, she made the least "safe" decision of her life: single motherhood by choice.

Two abusive relationships taught her a powerful lesson: she didn't have to stay with the wrong partner just to have a child. She could become a mother on her own.

Financial independence gave her the freedom to choose her path—not out of desperation, but on her terms.

When severe postpartum depression hit, she got help without shame.

This is a conversation about breaking patterns, becoming comfortable alone, and building the life you want instead of waiting for perfect conditions.

I have a fear of wasting time.

This week, my neighbor's dad was given 3 months to live. I sat with them - just talking, letting time pass. Fighting every urge to be productive.

Here's what struck me: I live like time is always urgent. But her family would give anything for those 3 months to drag.

Time always feels urgent until it really is. Then you just want it to slow down.

In this episode:

We've mastered discipline - the gym, the work, showing up. But we haven't mastered rest, breaks, doing nothing without guilt.

What if this year is for optimizing joy instead of just output?

Your next growth might not be doing more. It might be learning to do less - and being okay with it.

Time is urgent. Life is short. Maybe BECAUSE of that, we need permission to waste some of it.

What happens when you fight for motherhood - and then discover you're still allowed to find it hard?

Priyanka Mishra is Business Head at Fuzia Talent, scaling virtual support services to 1,000+ clients. She's also mother to one-year-old Siona - a daughter who arrived after three miscarriages and taught her everything about holding two truths at once.

In this conversation:→ How three losses shaped her approach to motherhood (and why that doesn't make her struggles more valid than anyone else's)→ The gratitude paradox: being deeply blessed AND deeply exhausted→ Why self-compassion isn't reserved for those who "fought harder"→ Integration over martyrdom: staying ambitious while being present→ How her husband's resilience (raised by a working mother) makes partnership possible→ Teaching Siona emotional resilience in a world that needs it

This isn't about creating a hierarchy of who deserves to struggle. It's about learning from someone whose difficult path taught her something we ALL need: you don't need to earn the right to rest.

Whether your journey to motherhood was traumatic or straightforward, we all end up in the same place - learning as we go, being transformed, needing grace.

If you've ever felt guilty for finding motherhood hard when you "should" be grateful - this conversation will give you permission to hold both.

I used to sprint to school pickup. Actually run. Because being first in the queue somehow meant I was doing it right.

Last week, I strolled. I was 15th in line.

My son didn't notice.

The running wasn't about him. It was about me - compensating for working, performing for invisible judges, trying to parent like I don't work so no one could question if I was enough.

Being 15th in line didn't break him. It freed me.

I used to think good mothering meant being first. But I've learned it means knowing which standards actually matter and which ones I invented to over-compensate.

In this episode, I'm unpacking the performance trap working mothers fall into. Why we over-perform in visible moments to compensate for the fact that we're more than just mothers - we have identities outside of it, we enjoy working, we pursue our own goals.

The constant vigilance about our performance and the exhausting need to be visibly devoted every single moment.

It's ok to let my children see that I'm more than mummy - I go to the gym, I have friends, I enjoy my time alone.

Invented standards, real relief, and the freedom in letting them see all of me. That's what I'm building.

100 episodes! Built in stolen moments while juggling motherhood, career, and life going completely sideways.

What you'll hear:

→ Why we started recording in dressing gowns with no idea what we were doing (and why waiting for "ready" means never starting)

→ How the podcast became a catalyst for everything else - weight training, travelling, self care.

→ Why marriage and children aren't the summit - and what happens when you realise those are roles, not your identity

→ "Ageing out of a lifetime of social choreography: stopping performing, setting boundaries, protecting peace unapologetically

→ Making peace with looking like a beginner publicly - that's the price of entry

The truth: Small projects don't stay small. They become the foundation for everything else you build.

Starting 2026 with proof: you're capable of more than you think. You just have to show up.

My 3-year-old daughter turns every nurse appointment into a fact-finding mission.

And I've been seeing this nurse for weeks.

First appointment: "What's that?" (pointing at tattoo)Next visit: "What's that?" (pointing at freckles)By week four: We know she's half Chilean, moved from Canada at 11, has two teenage kids.

Not because I asked. Because my daughter hasn't learned to mind her business yet - and she forces me to pay attention alongside her.

I used to think being polite meant keeping professional distance. But those social rules - don't stare, don't ask, mind your business - they make us polite and incredibly lonely.

In this episode, I'm discussing what we lose when we learn to be professional everywhere. Why the rules that make us polite also make us strangers. And what happens when we give ourselves permission to be curious again.

My daughter won't stay this way forever. Eventually she'll learn the rules too.

But for now? She's teaching me to see people again.

What happens when motherhood doesn't just change you - it completely redirects your life's work?

Pamela Aculey is the creative-tech founder behind MIXD Reality - the UK's first inclusive augmented reality picture book.

But first, she was a mother being dismissed in appointments, watching her autistic son Walter disappear in a world that wasn't built for him.

In this conversation:

→ How her mother's refusal to accept the status quo gave her the blueprint for advocacy

→ The moment she stopped trusting professionals and started trusting herself

→ Her own autism diagnosis and how it reframed everything

→ The invisible labor of fighting to be believed about your own child

This isn't inspiration porn. This is what happens when frustration, love, and refusal to accept invisibility collide.

If you've ever felt dismissed or like you're juggling too much while trying to change something broken - this will remind you why your mission matters.

My 2-year-old daughter was crying, desperately needing a toilet. The restaurant staff in Pisa looked at her and said no.

I exploded. Zero regrets.

Months later, when her grandparents crossed a boundary, I stood firm and silent. No scene. No explanation needed.

Both moments were protection. Just different tools.

I used to think consistency meant always responding the same way. But I've learned it means consistently protecting - with whatever tool the moment requires.

Sometimes love is loud. Sometimes it's quiet. Both are power.

In this episode, I'm working through how to know which battles need volume and which need stillness. Why some moments require rage and others require silent boundaries. And what our children actually learn when they see us use different tools for different threats.

The Pisa rage? Right tool. The grandparent boundary? Also right tool.

Battles, boundaries, and the wisdom to choose. That's what I'm building.