I want to talk about something that sounds simple but isn’t. Listen to your body. You’ve probably heard it a hundred times. From a therapist, a yoga class, an Instagram post, a well-meaning friend. And if you’re like most people, some part of you quietly thinks: I don’t actually know what that means. That’s not a personal failure. I think most of us were never taught. There’s a reason for that, and it goes deeper than any one family or any one generation. Our ancestors understood something...
2 months ago • 4 min read
From the River & Ember Shelf — Curated Reads From the River & Ember Shelf Curated Reads Adult Edition Each month, Curated Reads moves in rhythm. One month a grown-up book; the next a children's story. River & Ember was built on jointness, connectedness, and reciprocity. The belief that wisdom doesn't travel in one direction. It circles between parent and child, story and reader, moment and memory. Our grown-up Curated Reads are quiet studies in personal rhythm and inner life. Our children's...
3 months ago • 5 min read
My daughter showed me a story she drew this week. I looked at the characters and said, "Oh, they look sad." She smiled — this big, knowing smile — and said, "Actually, they're very happy." And then she said something I haven't been able to stop thinking about: Just because you look like one emotion on the outside doesn't mean that's what you're feeling on the inside. She's eight. And she handed me the whole newsletter in one sentence. Her drawing is at the top of this letter, because it says...
3 months ago • 4 min read
People often call them “big emotions.” And I understand why. Sometimes a feeling in your child can feel hard to hold. Loud. Urgent. Relentless. Like it takes over the whole room. But I want to offer something gently. An emotion is not too big. It does not need more attention because it is big. Sometimes the quietest emotion needs the most care. What is actually happening is simpler. In that moment, the feeling is harder for you to hold than the one from yesterday. It stretches your nervous...
3 months ago • 2 min read
At The River's Edge A weekly note with gentle practices for connectionin everyday family moments. Hi Reader, Lately, I’ve been thinking about emotional language: not how we teach it to children, but how it quietly grows. As you can imagine, earning my PhD meant spending years studying emotions, and parenting meant learning how that knowledge shows up in real life. Somewhere between the two, I began to notice something important: while naming feelings can be incredibly helpful at times, there...
4 months ago • 2 min read
From the River & Ember Shelf This month's Curated Read: Before We Sleep by Giorgio Volpe & Proietti Each month, Curated Reads moves in rhythm — one month a grown-up book; the next a children’s story. River & Ember was built on jointness, connectedness, and reciprocity — the belief that wisdom doesn’t travel in one direction. It circles between parent and child, story and reader, moment and memory. Our grown-up Curated Reads are quiet studies in personal rhythm and healing.Our children’s...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, January often arrives carrying a quiet pressure: to do more, be better, change faster. But here’s something I keep returning to, both as a mom and as a doctor of psychology: lasting change rarely comes from big overhauls. It comes from small practices that our nervous systems can actually hold. That’s why River & Ember is built around five minutes. Why 5 minutes mattersResearch in neuroscience and behavior change consistently shows that short, repeatable practices are more likely...
5 months ago • 1 min read
From the River & Ember Shelf December Curated Read: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker Each month, Curated Reads moves in rhythm — one month a grown-up book, the next a children’s story. River & Ember is built on jointness, connectedness, and reciprocity — the belief that wisdom doesn’t travel in one direction. It circles between parent and child, night and morning, season to season. Our grown-up Curated Reads are quiet studies in personal rhythm and healing — the inner work that steadies the...
5 months ago • 2 min read
I’m starting something simple — and I think it’s needed. Moms Who Make is an intimate, curated circle for moms building creative businesses — makers first, with a small welcome for aligned service providers. Not a directory. Not a promo board. A calm place to be seen, connect, and collaborate — without noise. I’m opening the doors when we reach 200 founding moms. If you want the first invitation, join the waitlist here: → Join the waitlist P.S. If you know a mom building something beautiful,...
5 months ago • 1 min read