138. You're not a bad mom, you're just a people pleaser — Libby Ward
Libby Ward has been known as "The Honest Mom" since 2020, when she joined TikTok on a whim and started sharing about the realities of motherhood thinking no one would find her. To her surprise, over two million women were waiting for exactly that. Now she's a writer, speaker, mental health advocate, and the author of Honest Motherhood: On Losing My Mind and Finding Myself.
In this episode, you’ll hear Andrea and Libby – two Canadian women who connected at the Mom 2.0 Summit in Austin, TX – having a very honest conversation about what’s not said enough about motherhood.
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Intro
(01:43) Inside "the writing pit" — why the book took two years instead of one
(04:05) How the title Honest Motherhood came together
(06:26) Signing the book deal in 2023 with imposter syndrome on her shoulder
(11:43) What Libby would change about early motherhood
(13:32) The cost of people-pleasing
(15:47) Urgent vs. important: the corporate prioritization framework that applies to motherhood
(17:03) "You are the expert of your own life"
(19:53) Radical honesty and shame
(21:09) How to work with shame
(23:39) Mom guilt vs. grief for parents
(27:58) Feelings are just information
(29:13) "The second arrow" — the double-hit of feeling a feeling and then beating yourself up for having it
(33:30) What it's like to be a public safe space — DMs, in-person meet-and-greets, and learning not to fix everyone
(35:40) The book launch party
(37:18) Guilt around joy — why Libby spent years stopping herself from feeling proud or excited
(40:55) Rapid fire questions
(42:10) What Libby is still trying figuring out.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Guilt is just information. The only way out of the shame and guilt spiral is to feel them fully and do the thing anyway. Every time you do, the feeling shrinks just a little. And eventually, you realize you could have started saying no a long time ago.
About Libby Ward
Libby Ward is a creator, speaker, and fierce advocate for women and mothers. Her work has been featured on the BBC and Globe and Mail, Good Morning America, and she is a member of Reese Witherspoon’s inaugural Hello Sunshine Collective. Known for her honesty and humour, Libby connects with millions of women through her social media platforms and creates spaces where moms feel seen and empowered to reclaim their time and well-being. Her book Honest Motherhood: On Losing My Mind and Finding Myself explores the realities of modern motherhood and her healing journey to becoming a more present parent and whole person.
Connect with Libby Ward
Website | https://libbyward.com/
Instagram |https://www.instagram.com/libbyward/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/libbywardofficial
TikTok |https://www.tiktok.com/@libbywardofficial
The Book: Honest Motherhood |https://amzn.to/4u2XM4e
