Ep 101: Stoking our Soul Fire for a Revolution from Home with Beth Berry

Mother's Quest Podcast

Welcome to this last conversation of 2023, with coach, teacher, small group and retreat facilitator at Revolution from Home, mother of four daughters and author of the book Motherwhelmed, Beth Berry. Beth says she has revolution in her bones. It began when she was seventeen and pumping milk in the bathroom of her high school for her now-grown eldest daughter. It has since gradually evolved into a tender, fiery conviction to reclaim motherhood from every disempowering personal and cultural story she can wrap her head and heart around. Beth has spent thousands of hours mentoring and supporting mothers through their process of self-discovery, self-reclamation, and dream realization, reminding us of our worthiness and reframing our importance as changemakers. One of the mothers Beth has mentored is Katie Hanus, one of the members of my very first Mother’s Quest Virtual Circle, created over five years ago. Katie and the other members of that first Circle and I are in almost daily conversation together on Voxer where we share the ups and downs of our epic lives and the lessons we’re learning from guides who help light our way. It was through Katie that I first heard about Beth’s transformative work and hoped I could one day interview her for the podcast.

Building deep relationships among mothers is something Beth invites us to explore as her challenge in this episode. Without the web of connections that used to come in the form of a village, we blame ourselves when we’re unable to live up to superhuman standards with subhuman levels of support. Beth also offers a beautiful opportunity to invest and care for ourselves through tending to what she calls our soul fire, a representation of the things that restore and sustain us. She invites us to think about how we can add not just quick-burning kindling to this soul fire, but the big logs that can burn steadily. I hope this conversation can be a spark for you to put yourself at the center during this holiday and new year season, commit to building rich, meaningful connections with other mothers where you live, and add some long-burning logs to your soul fire. In so doing, may 2024 become a year for a revolution and reclamation from home of your own.

About Beth Berry

Beth Berry is a coach, teacher, small group and retreat facilitator, mother of four daughters and author of Motherwhelmed. A revolutionary at heart, she helps mothers get more of what they want and need to feel fulfilled and empowered despite the odds. She believes that self-aware, self-compassionate, well-supported mothers who know themselves to be worthy of pleasure and joy-filled lives are powerful beyond measure and essential to the healing of the world.

Connect with Beth Berry

Website | revolutionfromhome.com

Instagram | @revolutionfromhome

Facebook | Revolution from Home

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• The ways in which we inherit our mothers’ “hand me downs” and the ones that shaped Beth and planted seeds for her own revolution.

• The series of spark moments, most of which she says were not pretty, that set Beth on living her epic life.

• Beth’s intuitive approach to motherhood and how she practiced mindful engagement with her children from the beginning, even at the age of 17 when she had her first daughter.

• The deep sense of purpose she feels for changing the narratives around motherhood and shifting the systems that invisibilize the unpaid caregiving of mothers.

• The power of tending to our soul fire.

• Why some of the entitlement she notices in her daughters gives her hope for a more empowered generation of mothers in the future.

• How internalized narratives of hyper-individualism can hinder connection between mothers.

• The post-it Beth has on her computer that says “A well rested woman is dangerous”

Books Beth Mentions:

• Beth Berry’s Book | Motherwhelmed

• Jaiya John Book | Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution

• Clarissa Pinkola Estés Book | Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype

• Toko-pa Turner Book | Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home

• Pete Walker: books, biography, latest update

• Kimberly Ann Johnson Book | Call of the Wild: How We Heal Trauma, Awaken Our Own Power, and Use It For Good

• Sonya Renee Taylor: Books

• Adrienne Maree Brown Books

• Esther Perel: Books

• Eve Rodsky Book | Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live) (Reese's Book Club)

• Angela Garbes Book | Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change

Other Related Episodes You Might Enjoy Next:

• Reclaiming Our Time and Creativity with Eve Rodsky

• Slay Your Dragon of Self Doubt with Returning Guest Katherine Wintsch

• Ep 98: Sometimes Change Sucks “Reflections at the 5 year Anniversary of the Manifesto Challenge” With Graeme Seabrook

• Ep 41: Reclaiming Ourselves in Motherhood ~A Mother’s Day Special~ with Graeme Seabrook

This Episode’s Challenge:

Beth challenges you to pause and reflect when you feel like you're not doing enough. Ask yourself who benefits from that belief and who is harmed by it. Explore the reasons behind the pressure to over-function and consider if there might be healthier ways to self-soothe and achieve your desired life. She also invites us to invest in building relationships with mothers where we live, beginning to restore a sense of village that we have lost. Brave new connections in your community. Knock on some doors in your neighborhood.

The Mother’s Quest Holiday and New Year Gift Guide:

Put yourself on your priority list and choose something for yourself this holiday season from our Gift Guide. Take a peek inside and see some of my favorite things that I’ve curated for you, including the 2024 Live Your EPIC Year planners. https://mothersquest.com/2024-planners/

Mother’s Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.

Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C). In celebration of our 100th episode, we invite you to help us spread the word by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. Help us reach 100 reviews to honor 100 episodes this Season Eight of the Mother’s Quest Podcast! You can also support the podcast by making a contribution or joining one of our memberships at our Patron Page on Ko-Fi.com.

Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest