Can't Call Your Mom with Nicole Weston

15. Healing a Complicated Mother-Daughter Relationship After Loss, Trauma Bonds, Guilt, & Grace with Karen Spiers

In this profoundly honest and deeply relatable episode, Nicole sits down with Karen to unpack the complexities of grieving a mother with whom they shared a loving—yet challenging—relationship. This is a conversation for every daughter who is navigating the duality of intense love and deep-seated trauma. Karen shares the story of her feisty Irish mother, Pat (Eithne), a woman who found 39 years of sobriety but never let go of the guilt she carried over her past struggles with alcoholism and depression. The two explore the painful journey of healing a fractured mother-daughter relationship, from the anger and lost trust of teenage years to the eventual reconciliation and fierce bond they forged before Pat's death. Nicole and Karen dive deep into: * The Power of Acceptance: Moving past the desire for your mother to be who you wanted her to be, and instead finding peace by meeting her where she was. * Understanding Trauma Bonds: An explanation of why the grief over a complicated relationship can feel so uniquely excruciating, amplifying childhood trauma and leaving you feeling "alone on an island". * The Anger of Loss: Processing the intense anger that can arise when a parent is lost to an illness tied to choices they made, and the journey to forgiving yourself for being angry. * Redefining Forgiveness: Karen’s powerful perspective that freedom comes not necessarily through the social construct of "forgiveness," but through "reconciling" with what happened and refusing to let past actions impact your self-belief. * Living in the Love Left Behind: How to find comfort and connection in a world that feels broken, channeling the life-long wisdom of a mother who taught that "We are in the grace and love of an unknown power". This episode is a must-listen for mothers who are doing the difficult work of unpacking generational trauma (even the "ugly feelings") and choosing to evolve through grief, rather than being diminished by it. If you’ve struggled to mourn a mother whose relationship was complicated, this episode offers a needed space of understanding, grace, and permission to feel it all.

14. Motherless on Mother's Day: Healing Grief, Honouring Your Mom & Co-Creating a Relationship in Spirit

Show Notes: Mother's Day has passed — but the grief doesn't get a calendar. Three days after Mother's Day, host Nicole is sitting with you in the tender space that comes after the celebration fades, holding space for the complex, layered emotions of being a mom who is also missing her own. In this short but powerful episode, Nicole speaks directly to the motherless mothers who are still carrying it — the ache, the sorrow, the bittersweet joy of being celebrated while grieving the one who celebrated you. In this episode, Nicole covers: * Why Mother's Day can be exhausting and triggering for motherless mothers — and how to protect your energy in the weeks leading up to it * The body's memory of grief and why trauma brings us right back, even years later * How Nicole began co-creating a spiritual relationship with her late mom — and why this has been her most profound healing experience yet * Simple rituals to keep your connection with mom alive (candles, letters, sharing memories) * The beautiful moment her daughter asked, "Why didn't nanny just bring her phone when she died?" — and how that sparked the heart of the Can't Call Your Mom community * Why expression is one of the highest forms of healing * Reading names from the community — 2,500+ women who shared their mom's name this Mother's Day weekend Connect with Nicole: 📧 Join The Four O'Clock Club : a weekly email community sent at 4:00 PM https://www.nicoleweston.ca/blog [https://www.nicoleweston.ca/blog] 💻 Virtual Community Call — May 21st at 12 PM ET (free, registration required) https://www.nicoleweston.ca/communitycall [https://www.nicoleweston.ca/communitycall] 🌸 Can't Call Your Mom Gathering — In-person event in Barrie, ON on June 5th https://www.nicoleweston.ca/gathering [https://www.nicoleweston.ca/gathering] Work with Nicole: Book a free 20 minute introductory call with Nicole    https://nicoleweston.as.me/introductorycall [https://nicoleweston.as.me/introductorycall] Instagram: ⁠ @thenicoleweston⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/thenicoleweston/]

13. Mother's Day After Mother Loss: Signs, Spirit & Getting Closer to Mom After She's Gone

If the week before Mother's Day has your grief feeling heavy, this episode is for you. Host Nicole Weston sits down with Miranda (Dead Mom Therapist) and Brittany (Psychic Medium & Spiritual Mentor) for a raw conversation on honoring your dead mom, setting boundaries, and using your loss as a sacred portal to connect with your truest self and her spirit. You will leave feeling less alone, seen, and invited to choose love over loneliness on your journey. A raw and soulful conversation on honoring your dead mom, mothering yourself, and connecting with spirit on Mother's Day and beyond. * The complexity of Mother's Day when you've lost your mom, and how to set personal boundaries (especially if the loss was before you became a mother). * The practice of "microdosing your grief" and other methods for maintaining an active relationship with your mother in spirit. * How to ask for specific signs and trust that you are always connected to the person you lost (e.g., Brittany's story about the purple Jeep). * Why grief is a "portal of transformation and initiation," and the importance of integrating your shadow parts instead of trying to get rid of them. * Reparenting your inner child and having conversations with your own children to break generational trauma around grief. * Miranda and Brittany’s final messages if they could call their mothers today. Connect with our Guests:  Brittany: http://www.brittanyschmidt.ca [http://www.brittanyschmidt.ca] Miranda: http://www.mirandamalone.com [http://www.mirandamalone.com] Connect with Nicole: Register for Nicole’s free Community Call may 21 12pm ET  https://www.nicoleweston.ca/communitycall [https://www.nicoleweston.ca/communitycall] Book a free 20 minute introductory call with Nicole    https://nicoleweston.as.me/introductorycall [https://nicoleweston.as.me/introductorycall] Website: ⁠ [http://www.nicoleweston.ca]www.nicoleweston.ca⁠ Instagram: ⁠ @thenicoleweston⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/thenicoleweston/] Produced by Nicole Weston & Co-Produced by Hunter Blackett Photography by Heather Whitcombe⁠ [https://www.whitcombecreative.com/] If This Episode Resonated: Please subscribe, leave a review, and share this with a woman in your life who is carrying this. You know someone who lost her mom during Covid and has never had a space to talk about it. Send

12. Grief, Generational Wealth Transfer, and Finding Wisdom in the Midlife Transition with Lisa Kang'ethe

Host Nicole Weston welcomes Lisa for a profoundly honest conversation about navigating the overwhelming duality of grief and love after losing her mother, Sharyn. The episode explores the often-unspoken challenges of grieving while simultaneously mothering, running a business, and navigating major life transitions. In this episode, we dive into: * The surprise complexity of being a co-executor of a parent's estate and dealing with unexpected family conflict and financial turmoil during the first couple of years after a loss. * How major life changes, like entering perimenopause and turning 50, compound the experience of grief and force a complete re-evaluation of identity. * The concept of "grief illiteracy" in our society and the importance of seeking professional help, including therapy and hormone replacement therapy (HRT), when old coping mechanisms stop working. * Lessons learned from grief experts like David Kessler and the journey to finding the "sixth phase" of grief: meaning. * Crucial advice for anyone dealing with loss and the coming wave of generational wealth transfer: The importance of learning to go slow and giving yourself grace during a time of extreme indecisiveness and limited capacity. * The power of small rituals, from lighting a candle to wearing a loved one's perfume, in honoring the memory of those who have passed. This episode offers raw honesty and practical wisdom for anyone holding immense burdens while striving to move forward and be a captain through life's storms. Connect with Lisa: http://linkedin.com/in/lisakangethe [http://linkedin.com/in/lisakangethe] https://wallofwealth.ca/ca/Lisa_Kangethe [https://wallofwealth.ca/ca/Lisa_Kangethe] Connect with Nicole: Register for Nicole’s free Community Call may 21 12pm ET  ⁠https://www.nicoleweston.ca/communitycall⁠ [https://www.nicoleweston.ca/communitycall] Book a free 20 minute introductory call with Nicole    https://nicoleweston.as.me/introductorycall [https://nicoleweston.as.me/introductorycall] Website: ⁠ [http://www.nicoleweston.ca]www.nicoleweston.ca⁠ Instagram: ⁠ @thenicoleweston⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/thenicoleweston/] Produced by Nicole Weston & Co-Produced by Hunter Blackett Photography by Heather Whitcombe⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.whitcombecreative.com/⁠⁠ [https://www.whitcombecreative.com/] If This Episode Resonated: Please subscribe, leave a review, and share this with a woman in your life who is carrying this. You know someone who lost her mom during Covid and has never had a space to talk about it. Send it to her. Every share reaches another motherless mother who is searching for this community.

11. Heart Led and Living Her Next Chapter with Heather Haigh

EPISODE OVERVIEW This episode is a masterclass in integration. Heather describes herself as a "well-integrated personal and professional human," a phrase that encapsulates the years of showing up for hard conversations, choosing love over being right, and allowing grief to evolve her. Heather began her heart-led journey 13 years ago, long before her parents became ill, because she wanted to show up better for her family. This early investment meant she could be present with her parents in their final years in a way that brings her deep peace. The conversation explores navigating profound ideological differences with her father, receiving her mother's hardest moments with compassion, grief as an ongoing practice, and the signs and symbols (owls, loons, music) that confirm love's continuation after death. WHAT YOU'LL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE * How Heather's heart-led journey started 13 years ago because she wanted to show up better for her family. * The story of navigating a profound values divide with her father and the conscious choice she made to love him for who he was. * The weekly dinner practice with her mother, and what it meant to show up with intention every single time, even when it was hard. * The moment her mother called her a bully, and how she transformed that wound into wisdom. * What it looked like to hold her mother's final weeks with grace while also having somewhere to release the pain. * Why "I am her and she is me" is a lived experience of continuation. * The snowy white owl that appeared in her Toronto backyard the day her mom passed, and the loon that visits the cottage dock. * Music as a portal to grief, release, and connection, and how Heather uses it to find her footing. * The difference between holding onto who you were before loss and allowing yourself to evolve into who you're becoming. * Her book Living by Heart and the collaborative chapter she wrote about her journey with inner guidance. A MOMENT THAT WILL STAY WITH YOU "We are forever changed. So how do we let ourselves evolve through the grieving process and become who we're meant to become in this new chapter of our lives?" Heather doesn't just answer this question with words. She answers it with her whole life. CONNECT WITH HEATHER Find Heather's book Living by Heart wherever books are sold. If you're ready to lead your life and your business from a deeper, more integrated place, Heather is the guide for you. The book's website is www.livingbyheart.ca [http://www.livingbyheart.ca/] Connect with Nicole: Register for Nicole’s free Masterclass: She’s Dead. Now what? May 6th @12pm ET  ⁠https://www.nicoleweston.ca/masterclassgrief⁠ [https://www.nicoleweston.ca/masterclassgrief] Book a free 20 minute introductory call with Nicole    https://nicoleweston.as.me/introductorycall [https://nicoleweston.as.me/introductorycall] Website: ⁠ [http://www.nicoleweston.ca]www.nicoleweston.ca⁠ [about:blank] Instagram: ⁠ @thenicoleweston⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/thenicoleweston/] Produced by Nicole Weston & Co-Produced by Hunter Blackett Photography by Heather Whitcombe⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.whitcombecreative.com/⁠⁠ [https://www.whitcombecreative.com/] If This Episode Resonated: Please subscribe, leave a review, and share this with a woman in your life who is carrying this. You know someone who lost her mom during Covid and has never had a space to talk about it. Send it to her. Every share reaches another motherless mother who is searching for this community.