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

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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!

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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

Toxic positivity is rampant in modern society - but the flavor that comes along with motherhood is particularly harmful. In this episode, Emily unpacks the real impact of toxic positivity in motherhood and why messages like “enjoy every moment” or “at least you have healthy kids” can actually leave moms feeling more isolated, guilty, and emotionally burned out.

The episode explores how toxic positivity shows up in everyday parenting culture, why suppressing difficult emotions can harm moms’ emotional wellbeing, and how pretending everything is fine affects both mothers and children. This conversation explores the pressure moms feel to appear endlessly grateful, the emotional masking so many women carry, and why emotional honesty matters so much in raising emotionally healthy kids.

If you’ve ever felt guilty for struggling, ashamed for needing a break, or like you have to hide how hard motherhood really feels, this episode is for you.

✨ 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

Why are so many moms feeling completely depleted in modern motherhood? In this episode, therapist and matrescence practitioner Vanessa Leveille joins The Sparkle Project for a powerful conversation about maternal depletion, identity shifts in motherhood, nervous system overwhelm, and the transition into motherhood known as matrescence.

This discussion goes beyond postpartum depression to explore the physical, emotional, and systemic realities impacting mothers today, especially women of color navigating unrealistic expectations, burnout, invisible labor, and chronic depletion. Vanessa explains why motherhood is deeply body-led, how maternal depletion can mimic anxiety and depression, and why so many moms feel like they’ve lost themselves after having children.

Whether you’re in early motherhood, struggling with burnout, or simply trying to understand why motherhood feels so overwhelming, this conversation offers validation, language, and insight into what so many women experience silently.

🔗 Connect with Vanessa:

Instagram: @matrescenceincolor
Website: www.matrescenceincolor.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 has a way of bringing anxiety, overwhelm, and unresolved trauma to the surface. In this episode, EMDR therapist Abbie Ames joins Emily to explore how motherhood can trigger old wounds, why so many moms feel overstimulated and emotionally exhausted, and how healing is possible through approaches that go beyond traditional talk therapy.

Abbie shares her own journey through pregnancy loss, fertility struggles, postpartum anxiety, and becoming a mom during COVID, along with the insights that led her to specialize in EMDR therapy for women and mothers. Together, they unpack the nervous system’s role in trauma, the pressure modern moms carry, and why so many women feel like they’re failing when they’re actually overwhelmed and unsupported.

This episode covers:

• Why motherhood can feel so triggering
• How trauma lives in the body
• Birth trauma, fertility struggles, and postpartum anxiety
• Why moms can’t always “think” their way out of overwhelm
• How EMDR therapy helps heal trauma beyond traditional talk therapy
• Breaking generational cycles and finding more peace in motherhood

This episode is an honest, compassionate conversation about healing trauma in motherhood, breaking generational cycles, and learning how to care for yourself without shame.

🔗 Connect with Abbie:

Instagram: @emdr.mom.therapist
Website: www.abbieamescounseling.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

May is Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month, and to kick it off, Emily is sharing what she's learned from her personal experience navigating mental health in motherhood and what every mom needs to know for their own wellbeing.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Why mental health struggles don’t always look the way we expect
• The difference between coping and actually healing
• Why “white knuckling” through motherhood isn’t the answer
• The impact of societal pressure on maternal mental health

If you've ever felt like you're just getting by, questioning yourself, or silently struggling, this episode will meet you right where you are.

✨ 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 doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and for many moms, that means navigating broken systems while also managing your own internal battles. In this episode, Emily sits down with Ciara Lyons, a nurse, mom, and founder of Her Black Wellness, to talk about the realities of maternal health, identity, and what it actually takes to keep showing up as a mother in today's world.

The episode dives into:

• The maternal health crisis in the United States, and how Black mothers are the most impacted
• How systemic issues impact all mothers
• Why “doing your best” might look different every single day
• What it looks like to advocate for yourself inside the healthcare system
• The role of community, boundaries, and capacity in modern motherhood

This conversation will validate your experiences navigating the challenges of modern motherhood, while also equipping you to fight for a better future.

🔗 Connect with Ciara:

Instagram: @herblackwellness
Links: https://linktr.ee/herblackwellness

✨ 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