#299 |THE GOOD MOTHER MYTH | WITH NANCY REDDY

Welcome to this week’s episode of The Happy Mama Movement Podcast.

Today, we’re joined by the wonderful Nancy Reddy—writer, poet, and writing teacher—whose work explores the often messy, complex realities of motherhood and creativity. Nancy’s first book of narrative nonfiction, The Good Mother Myth, is set to be published by St. Martin’s in January 2025. She’s also the author of three books of poetry, including Pocket Universe, and co-editor of The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood. Her writing dives into the truths behind the glossy myths we’re told about motherhood, and she’s been featured in Slate, Romper, and Electric Literature, among others.

We explore:

• The myth of the “Good Mother” and how it shapes our experiences
• A New Description and re-definition: Motherhood as a Relationship
• How creativity can survive and thrive amidst the chaos of parenting
• Guilt, Struggle and Judgement of ourselves as women.
• Broadening the public conversation around motherhood and parenting.

As always, I hope this conversation sparks something in you. If it does, please pass it along to the mothers in your life. We all deserve a little more honesty, support, and solidarity on this wild ride.

ABOUT NANCY REDDY: Nancy Reddy is a writer and a writing teacher. Her first book of narrative nonfiction, The Good Mother Myth, is forthcoming from St. Martin’s in January 2025. She is the author of three books of poetry, most recently Pocket Universe, and the co-editor of The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood. Her recent writing includes pieces on the damaging mythology of the “golden hour” after birth for Slate, making mom friends for Romper, and review-essays on the whiteness of the motherhood memoir and the political nature of motherhood at Electric Literature. Nancy holds an MFA in poetry and a PhD in rhetoric and composition, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In a previous academic life, she published scholarly work on writing studies and materiality, creative writing pedagogy, and community literacy in journals such as Community Literacy Journal, Literacy in Composition Studies, and The Journal of Creative Writing Studies.

Nancy currently teaches at Stockton University in New Jersey, and she also leads community writing workshops and lifelong learning courses, including at the Cooper Street Writing Workshops at Rutgers-Camden, the Stockton Institute for Lifelong Learning, Blue Stoop, and Murphy Writing. You can find her on Instagram and subscribe to her newsletter, Write More, Be Less Careful, where she offers wisdom and encouragement on navigating the often-difficult writing life.

RESOURCES:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nancy.o.reddy/
• NANCY'S NEWSLETTER: Write More, Be Less Careful: https://nancyreddy.substack.com/
• Website: https://www.nancyreddy.com/
• BUY THE BOOK: https://www.amazon.com.au/Good-Mother-Myth-Redefining-Motherhood/dp/1580055028

• UK SHOPPERS BUY THE BOOK HERE: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Mother-Myth-Unlearning-Ideas/dp/1250336643

OR HERE: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-good-mother-myth/nancy-reddy/9781250336644