Welcome to episode two of our mini series dedicated to maternal mental health at the intersection of grief for caregiving bodies. Each listening session centers on our human experience and expansion in wildness and how we might just survive (and maybe even thrive!) in this lifetime with the specific path we've been given.
Dear Soul Tender,
Meet Dr. Christy Bauman a seasoned expert in women's spiritual and sexual health, the author of a plethora of extraordinary books including Theology of the Womb, A Brave Lament and the upcoming Her Rites, a musician, and the mother of both physically alive children and multiple angels.
This conversation centers the reality of a postpartum period, season and time for caregiving bodies (not just birthing bodies) and bearing witness to both the joys and griefs experienced by both mothers and mothering bodies (because we all can mother). Beyond this, Jennifer and Christy expand into a simple and necessary message highlighting the importance of community care and intergenerational support for intergenerational impact.
What happens when we ask, seek and find the caregiving we need most?
Tune in and find out.
Looking for Dr. Christy’s new book Her Rites? Find it on Amazon, Bookshop.org or request it in your local bookstore today. You can also find her new album by the same name now live on all apps!
I love you and I see you, soul friend.
What if grief is the great connector? Can pain shared really be pain halved? What would happen if we realized our trials are almost always intersectional?
Dear Soul Tender is a safe and soulful newsletter with weekly essays, conversations and collaborations for “soul tenders” (caregivers of all kinds from parents to therapist, birth workers to pastoral people) centered on the intersectionality of pain, grief, disability and motherhood. Each Sunday I write a column called Our Body - a love letter to the caregiving bodies of the world who know pain. (Is it all of us?) And midweek, you'll receive a message on motherhood and mothering (no, they're not the same thing and yes, there is loads of overlap).
You can be certain that every word here has the aim of unity and generational impact. Stick around and let’s chat!
Season 1, Ep. 2 with Dr. Christy Bauman