Well, hello there and welcome my name is Stephanie Safarian and you're listening to

episode 241 of the sustainable minimalist podcast, a twice-weekly show about

intentional and eco-minimalist living.

On today's show we are discussing a big topic and it is how to have a kid and a life.

When on earth did being a quote-on-quote good mom

come to mean giving up everything that used to make you you.

We live in a wildly kid-centric culture

in which women are enticed to be selfless and give everything to their children, to their

homes, to their partners, and oftentimes if you're like me you may find that you have nothing left to give yourself.

So today I am speaking with parenting expert Erica Sauter.

Erica has written a new book and it is aptly titled How to Have a Kid and a Life, a Survival Guide.

Erica, I am so thrilled to talk to you today about a topic that is near and dear to my heart primarily because I still struggle with the

balance between being a mother and being a human being.

How are you?

I'm good and I'm excited to talk to you. I love talking about our lives as parents.

Me too. I like talking to mothers who are willing to be real. And your book was real. It was real life. I remember after I had my first

daughter, I just was staring at her, completely overwhelmed, and I remember being a little bit angry.

Why didn't any of the moms in my life

tell me that parenthood was actually like this?

Why didn't anybody ever decide to talk to me about how hard it is?

And so your book is down and dirty honest about the highs, the lows and everything in between.

We're going to talk about your book, but before we talk about your book, let's talk about you.

...