The Hidden History of Motherhood Nobody Taught You (And Why That Was Deliberate) with Elinor Cleghorn

If you’ve ever felt like you were failing at something you were supposed to be naturally good at – this conversation will set you free.

Elinor Cleghorn is a feminist historian and the author of A Woman’s Work: Reclaiming the Radical History of Mothering, and in this deeply personal, wide-ranging conversation with Dr. Mindy, she unpacks one of the most important questions of our time: why has motherhood been so diminished, misunderstood, and so weaponized against the very women who do it?

From the myth of the perfect maternal instinct to the constructed guilt that has silenced women for centuries, from the empty nest to the role of fatherhood in healing the masculine wound, this conversation goes everywhere. It's equal parts history lesson, permission slip, and love letter to every woman who has ever given everything to raising a family and wondered whether she was doing it right.

Spoiler: you were.

A Woman's Work by Elinor Cleghorn is available in bookshops and online now. Find Elinor on Instagram at @elinorcleghorn.

For more resources related to today’s episode, visit the podcast episode page: https://www.drmindypelz.com/ep338

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