Can you be grateful for the family you have and still grieve the one you thought you’d have?

Hannah Neal joins Tia Lilley for a conversation about the complicated parts of motherhood that don’t always fit neatly into gratitude, happiness, or heartbreak.

From finding her place as a stepmom to navigating pregnancy loss, motherhood, marriage, identity, mom guilt, and the pressure women put on themselves to be okay, Hannah opens up about what it looked like when life and motherhood didn’t follow the plan she once imagined.

And somewhere in this conversation is a reminder for the mom who’s ever felt guilty because she can appreciate what she has while still hurting over what she doesn’t:

Both can be true!

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🔥 Share this episode with a mom who needs this conversation.

Content note: This episode includes discussion of pregnancy loss, miscarriage, infertility, pregnancy complications, and mental health.

Connect with the Torch Mom Podcast

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@thetorchmompodcast

Have questions or experiences to share?

Please send us an email to

thetorchmompodcast@gmail.com

Want to be a guest on The Torch Mom Podcast?

Apply here:

https://form.jotform.com/231248521047046

Got something on your heart?

Call: 202-670-6476

Or send a voice message using this link:

https://www.speakpipe.com/msg/s/440562/2/3xjam5jbabj9llyp

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Answer this week’s Confession Question

Submit your answer using this separate voice

message link:

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TorchMomConfessions

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Connect with Hannah and her resources

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/moderndayminerswife?stkn=MTlqdDJieXU5Y3RnaQ==

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/ModernDayMinersWife

Blog

hannahyneal.com

Ashley Ortiz became a mom at 19 and graduated high school with her three-month-old daughter in the audience. She became a single mom, survived an abusive relationship while pregnant with her second child, rebuilt her life, created a blended family, and eventually helped build a seven-figure family painting business.

But this isn’t a conversation about pretending the hard parts were necessary to become successful.

Ashley joins Tia Lilley for the return of Season 6 of The Torch Mom Podcast to talk honestly about young motherhood, leaving an abusive relationship, raising teenagers, breaking cycles through honesty with her children, marriage, building a business while her kids grew up alongside it, being a woman in a male-populated industry, and realizing that sometimes the person underestimating you is you.

She also shares the five-minute conversation that helped change the direction of her career, why she tells her teenagers to call her even when they’ve messed up, the guilt she carried while building the family business, and the moment one of her children finally understood what all those late nights had been for.

For the mom who can’t see past what she’s going through right now, this conversation is a reminder:

Right now isn’t forever.

🎙️ Follow The Torch Mom Podcast wherever you listen.🔥 Share this episode with a mom who needs to hear it.

Content note: This episode includes discussion of domestic violence.

Connect with the Torch Mom Podcast

Instagram, Facebook, TikTok & Threads

@thetorchmompodcast

Have questions or experiences to share?

Please send us an email to

thetorchmompodcast@gmail.com

Want to be a guest on The Torch Mom Podcast?

Apply here:

https://form.jotform.com/231248521047046

Got something on your heart?

Call: 202-670-6476

Or send a voice message using this link:

https://www.speakpipe.com/msg/s/440562/2/3xjam5jbabj9llyp

Just record it on your phone no camera needed.

Answer this week’s Confession Question

Submit your answer using this separate voice

message link:

https://www.speakpipe.com/

TorchMomConfessions

Your story could help another mom feel seen.

Connect with Ashley and her resources

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/bellavistanw

Website

https://bellavistanw.com/

Nobody warned her that motherhood would change her identity, her body, her brain, and her sense of self for far longer than she expected.

This episode of The Torch Mom Podcast is a powerful conversation about motherhood, identity, burnout, healing, twin pregnancy, marriage, mental health, and the long road back to yourself.

Tia sits down with Josie, a therapist, professor, group practice owner, wife, and mother of twins, for one of the most honest conversations about what happens after motherhood changes everything.

From navigating a difficult twin pregnancy and a NICU stay to rebuilding her sense of self nearly two years later, Josie shares the realities many mothers experience but rarely talk about openly.

In this episode:

• twin pregnancy and NICU experiences

• identity loss after motherhood

• burnout and perfectionism

• balancing marriage, motherhood, and career

• relational trauma and healing

• raising emotionally aware children

• breaking generational cycles

• supporting moms through community

• why healing happens in relationships

• the truth about feeling like yourself again

Connect with the Torch Mom Podcast

Instagram, Facebook, TikTok & Threads

@thetorchmompodcast

Have questions or experiences to share?

Please send us an email to

thetorchmompodcast@gmail.com

Want to be a guest on The Torch Mom Podcast?

Apply here:

https://form.jotform.com/231248521047046

Got something on your heart?

Call: 202-670-6476

Or send a voice message using this link:

https://www.speakpipe.com/msg/s/440562/2/3xjam5jbabj9llyp

Just record it on your phone no camera needed.

Answer this week’s Confession Question

Submit your answer using this separate voice

https://www.speakpipe.com/

TorchMomConfessions

Your story could help another mom feel seen.

Connect with Josie and her resources

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/theampawpc?igsh=MW9keXloeHFxOXJrOQ==

Website

https://www.ampawpc.com/