Welcome to season 2 of the Bad Mothers podcast.
Last season, I focused only on strained or estranged mother-daughter relationships.
One of the things that I hope others take away from those conversations, apart from the necessity and validity of choosing estrangement, is that sometimes – perhaps even most of the time – our mothers were doing their best. It just wasn’t enough. I have sympathy for my mother while at the same time knowing that she hurt me and that a relationship between us is not possible for many reasons.
And so I think a natural progression from that acknowledgement is to look at other kinds of mothers who are also trying and maybe succeeding – trying to fit in, trying to fill a unique role, trying to understand what their children need. They might be stepchildren, natural children, adopted children, or – and stay with me – dogs.
As I’ve previously shared, I adopted a puppy this year, and it has forced me to reckon with all the reasons I don’t have children and how or if that choice is tied in any way to my estrangement from my mother. And so I’ll talk to other child-free and childless people who have decided to have dogs instead of kids to try to better understand our choices and what they mean to us.
In addition to the dog parents, I’m excited to speak to other moms, estranged daughters, and step parents, to discuss all the unique challenges mothers of all kinds face every day.
I hope you’ll join me for the second season of Bad Mothers!
