E20: Is America Failing Mothers? An Honest Conversation with Jess Grose

If you’ve ever been forced to return to work so soon after welcoming a child, or taken unpaid maternity leave, or wondered how you’d juggle your career and caring for a human, we see you.

Frankly, American societal infrastructure is stacked against mothers and caregivers, which is why we sat down with esteemed author, columnist, and fellow mom Jess Grose to discuss why it feels so hard to be a mother in America. Jess is an opinion writer at The New York Times who often writes about women, parenting, and culture. She was named a Glamour Game Changer for her realistic coverage of parenting during the pandemic and is the author of several books including Sad Desk Salad, Soulmates, and Love, Mom, and most recently a book appropriately titled Screaming on the Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood - which was voted by People Magazine as one of the best books of 2023.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Jess’ own motherhood journey and the motivation behind her column and best-selling book
• The history behind American parenthood, and how we are now in a modern world with an antiquated infrastructure that leaves working parents and caregivers hanging
• How to embrace being a “good enough” mom and avoid feelings of failure

Jess is kind, humble, and brilliant. This episode on motherhood is one you surely won’t want to miss!

Links:

• Screaming On The Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood by Jess Grose
• https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/next-question-with-katie-couri-131117/episodes/the-parenting-deep-dive-part-1-156582216/transcript
• https://www.nytimes.com/by/jessica-grose
• https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/04/opinion/women-men-work.html

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