Good (Enough) Mother | Ashley Fenker (EP29)
Clear Intentions with Diane Boden
Diane Boden
4.8 • 952 Ratings
🗓️ 18 April 2025
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What does it mean to be a "good enough" mother in the midst of chaos, chronic illness, and creativity? In this episode, Ashley Fenker shares the story behind her book Good Enough Mother: Stories and Essays, and how the isolation of the 2020 pandemic sparked her return to writing. In our conversation today, Ashley opens up about her struggles and the healing power of journaling, reflection, and creative expression. This honest conversation explores the messy, beautiful reality of motherhood—and the freedom that comes with letting "good enough" be enough.
Links Discussed in This Episode |
- Previous Episode: The Opt-Out Family with Erin Loechner (EP339)
- Previous Episode: Intentional Learning at Home with Erin Loechner (EP200)
- Previous Episode: Minimalist Living: The Big Apple with Elizabeth Passarella (EP159)
- Connect with Ashley:
- Website
- Book: Good (Enough) Mother by Ashley Fenker
About Ashley|
Ashley Fenker is an essayist and freelance professional writer. Her articles and essays have appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine, Upworthy, HuffPost, HelloGiggles, Fathom Magazine, Scary Mommy, Coffee + Crumbs, and more.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | At the end of the day, I'm still going to lay in bed and think, like, I did a really good job. |
| 0:05.1 | It's so hard. I'm like constantly reworking those voices in our head of what are they going to think? |
| 0:12.3 | And am I living up to someone else's standards? Just because we tell a story one way at one point, it doesn't mean we have to continue to tell the story |
| 0:23.4 | in the same way as time goes on. That's the beauty of memories. I start to just approach my days |
| 0:30.8 | differently. I see my ordinary life in a different way. I pay attention to very small sensory details of smells and sounds and |
| 0:41.3 | taste that I just normally would ignore. |
| 0:45.2 | What does it mean to be a good enough mother in the midst of chaos, chronic illness, and |
| 0:51.7 | creativity? In today's episode, Ashley Finker shares the story behind her book, |
| 0:57.1 | Good Enough Mother, Stories and Essays, and how the isolation of the 2020 pandemic sparked her |
| 1:02.4 | return to writing. In our conversation today, Ashley opens up about her struggles and the |
| 1:07.2 | healing power of journaling, reflection, and creative expression. |
| 1:13.7 | She also shares insights into the self-publishing process and how personal connections help bring her book to life. |
| 1:17.0 | This honest conversation explores the messy, beautiful reality of motherhood |
| 1:21.3 | and the freedom that comes from letting good enough be enough. |
| 1:25.1 | But before we get into the episode, I'd love to thank today's sponsors. And if any of them |
| 1:29.1 | pique your interest, be sure to check them out. And then lastly, if you've yet to leave a rating |
| 1:34.2 | and or review for the podcast, pause the episode. It takes 30 seconds or less. And it is one of the |
| 1:39.4 | best ways that you can help the podcast continue to gain visibility. So thank you so much in advance to those of |
| 1:45.1 | you that have done this. And for those of you that have been listening for a long time and have yet |
| 1:49.4 | to do so, what are you waiting for? Truly, it takes 30 seconds or less. And with that, let's get into |
| 1:55.0 | this episode with Ashley. Well, Ashley, I'm so glad to get to talk to you today. You have a new book out called Good |
| 2:04.7 | Enough Mother Stories and Essays. Thank you for joining me. Thank you for having me. Yeah, absolutely. |
... |
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