Motherhood is always a hot topic at our book club discussions, whether we are talking about our own mothers or the challenges of motherhood. In this new episode, Leigh & Amaya tackle motherhood and discuss Kathryn Black’s book, Mothering Without a Map: The Search for The Good Mother Within. This book explores the author's own story, testimonies from other mothers and research from top thinkers in the fields of child development, psychoanalysis, psychology, anthropology, and science, to answer the question: How can women who have been "undermothered" transcend the patterns of their childhood and raise emotionally healthy children of their own?

Joining us to discuss this book is Dr. Katie Penry, a licensed clinical psychologist, who has a private practice in Alabama. Dr. Penry helps explain attachment theory, the bond between mother and child, which she describes as “the soil of everything.” She also helps us look at the enormous responsibility placed on the mother for the psychological well being of the child. Is this responsibility a burden to the mother? Is it fair? Can we not extend this conversation to include other parental support and caregivers in the child’s life along with the community responsible for helping resource the mother?

We also discuss trauma. What is the full range of trauma, and how can we heal traumas of various levels caused from birth, unavailable mothers and even ancestral, or epigenetic trauma. We discuss the importance of understanding the social, economic, and political circumstances of women so that we can understand and forgive our mothers’ shortcomings.

Dr. Katie Penry is the founder of @A Friendly Affair and owner of Dr. Katie Penry, LLC, an eclectic, private practice, serving adults and children on the Eastern Shore and Mobile.

You can follow her on Instagram @afriendlyaffair
You can find her on http://www.drkatiepenry.com/
And https://www.afriendlyaffair.com/