The WonderMama Coffee Chat | Conversations for Parents Who Lead

The WonderNana Coffee Chat with Alisa St. Georges - The Quiet Decline Nobody Talks About (Ep 21)

The quiet decline. You are not in crisis. But you are not yourself either. In this episode of The WonderMama Coffee Chat, Leonne sits down with Alisa St. Georges — mother of six, grandmother of four, and a woman who knows firsthand what it looks like to keep showing up for everyone while something quietly shifts inside you. This is not a conversation about burnout. It is not about hitting rock bottom. It is about something harder to name and easier to ignore — the slow, subtle changes that high-capacity women brush off because life is full and things are still getting done. The sleep that is not quite restoring you. The strength that is not quite there. The activities you used to love that you have quietly stopped doing. The version of yourself you keep meaning to get back to. Alisa's journey began after cancer treatment in her late thirties. Facing financial constraints and a medical system that did not have the answers she needed, she turned to natural wellness — grounding, fasting, holistic modalities — and began rebuilding herself from the inside out. What she found on the other side became the foundation for the work she does today. She also created a capacity audit — a simple tool that helps women see where their energy, recovery, and resilience are not keeping up with the life they are living, often before it becomes something bigger. Because awareness, she says, is always the first step. This conversation covers the things most women are not saying out loud. The quiet shifts that start in the mid to late forties. What it means to stop accepting a slow fade as the new normal. How imposter syndrome and self-trust are more connected than most people realize. And why this chapter of life should feel like an expansion — not a goodbye to the woman you used to be. This one is for the mom who does not feel like herself and cannot quite explain why. Topics covered: *The quiet decline and why it is different from burnout or crisis *What the body tries to tell you before things become serious *Natural wellness and rebuilding health after cancer *The capacity audit and how awareness changes everything *** Free resource from Alisa: Capacity Audit and Results Call — a simple wellness check-in to see where your body needs support Contact Alisa at alisa@addingvalu.com *** Connect with Leonne: TheWonderMama.com | @thewondermamaplace | The WonderMama Place on Skool

The WonderMama Coffee Chat with Wendy Hushon - What if the problem was never willpower? (Ep 20)

In this episode of The WonderMama Coffee Chat, Leonne sits down with Wendy Hushon, founder of UpLevel Wellness, for a conversation that reframes everything most moms have been told about why they keep starting over. Wendy knows this story from the inside. After relocating for her husband's career and pouring everything she had into early motherhood, she found herself nearly 50 pounds postpartum and completely disconnected from who she was. From the outside things looked fine. Inside she was exhausted, running on empty, and slowly disappearing into her roles. She tried harder. She made plans. She started over more times than she can count. And none of it stuck — because she was solving the wrong problem. What she eventually discovered was that it was not a discipline problem. It was not a motivation problem. It was a regulation problem. Her nervous system was in overdrive every single day, draining her energy before it even started. And nobody had ever framed it that way for her before. In this conversation Wendy and Leonne dig into what it actually means to get well — not just physically, but mentally and spiritually. Why identity is the tool that changes everything when goal setting keeps falling short. What happens in a family when a mom finally starts showing up for herself the way she shows up for everyone else. And why the most powerful thing any mom can model for her children is not perfection. It is becoming. This is a conversation for the mom who is tired of white-knuckling it and ready to understand why. Topics covered: * Why willpower is not the problem and what actually is * Nervous system regulation and what it means for moms * The identity shift that makes consistency finally possible * What getting well — really well — does for your kids, your marriage, and your sense of self * How to stop performing and start becoming Free resource from Wendy: * Protect Your Energy — Micro Habits for Moms Who Give Everything uplevelwellness.org/empower-guides Connect with Wendy: UpLevel Wellness | uplevelwellness.org Connect with Leonne: TheWonderMama.com | @thewondermamaplace | The WonderMama Place on Skool

The WonderMama Coffee Chat with Jaki Shelton Green - The Power of Our Stories. (Ep 19)

What would change if you finally gave yourself permission? In this Mother's Day week episode of The WonderMama Coffee Chat, Leonne sits down with someone who is both a legend in her field and deeply personal to her story. Jaki Shelton Green — North Carolina's first African American Poet Laureate, author of nine poetry collections, recording artist, and founder of SistaWRITE — is also Leonne's stepmother. And this conversation is everything that relationship makes it. They talk about what it costs a woman to keep defining herself through everyone else. The roles we hold so tightly we forget who we are underneath them. The secrets that hold us hostage. The permissions we never think to give ourselves. And what it means to show up — not as a performance of who you are supposed to be — but as the fullness of who you actually are. Jaki shares the story of a woman who wrote three novels in secret while her husband destroyed every manuscript she left within reach. She talks about crone-hood as a crown, not a concession. About bonding in wholeness instead of trauma. About inner fitness being the work that actually changes everything. And about what it means to be a conduit for other women — not bringing magic, but creating the space for them to find their own. Leonne and Jaki also go somewhere rarely discussed — the real difference between coaching and therapy, and why knowing that distinction matters more than most people realize. This one is rich. Give yourself the 42 mins. Topics covered: *Defining yourself beyond the roles you hold *The power of permission and what happens when you finally grant it to yourself *Crone-hood, aging unapologetically, and what it means to still be building at 73 *Bonding in wholeness instead of trauma *Inner fitness as the work that changes everything *The real difference between coaching and therapy *Building community and finding your tribe as a mother Connect with Jaki Shelton Green: jakisheltongreen.com | SistaWRITE Connect with Leonne: TheWonderMama.com | @thewondermamaplace | The WonderMama Place on Skool #WonderMamaCoffeeChat #Motherhood #JakiSheltonGreen

The WonderMama Coffee Chat with Maria Garcia | What do you do when your body stops working (Ep 18)

What do you do when your body stops working and takes everything with it? At 25, Maria Garcia was building a career in finance when a massive stroke changed everything. Paralyzed. Mute. Facing a recovery process that would take years and test every part of who she was. In this episode of The WonderMama Coffee Chat, Maria sits down with Leonne to share the full story — the stroke, the silence, the depression, the long road back, and the unexpected turning point that changed everything. It was not what you would expect. After years of stagnation in her recovery, Maria enrolled in a nutrition course — and something shifted. What started as a health breakthrough became a calling. Today Maria is a nutrition coach helping others reset their relationship with food through awareness, sustainable lifestyle changes, and a three-month program built on one simple idea: your body is not the problem. It has just not been getting what it needs. In this conversation Maria and Leonne talk about: — Surviving the unsurvivable and finding purpose in it — The role family plays in recovery when you cannot speak for yourself — Why willpower and dieting are not the answer — How nutrition became the missing piece after years of trying everything else — Practical advice for moms managing their own and their children's nutrition Maria also shares details about her Food Freedom Challenge — and leaves the door open for a return visit to the WonderMama community. This one will stay with you. Connect with Maria Email: hello@genuinelymaria.com Instagram: @genuinelymaria.wf Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-garcia [https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-garcia] Website: www.genuinelymaria.com SUBSCRIBE TO THIS CHANNEL 🎙️ Listen wherever you get your podcasts ▶️ Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@TheWonderMama-Videos 🌐 TheWonderMama.com · @thewondermamaplace

The WonderMama Coffee Chat with Heather McNally | Stop Apologizing for How you Mother (Ep 17)

What does it mean to stop apologizing for how you mother? In this episode of The WonderMama Coffee Chat, Leonne sits down with Identity and Alignment Activator, keynote speaker, best-selling author, and Life Beyond B.S. podcast host Heather McNally for a conversation that goes straight to the heart of what it costs a mother to keep shrinking herself. Heather grew up in an abusive household, watched her mother love fiercely while struggling to express it, and carried those patterns into her own life and parenting — until she decided to do something different. She walked away from the expected path, became a stay-at-home mom despite outside pressure, and committed to raising two emotionally intelligent sons while quietly doing the work of breaking cycles that had been running in her family for generations. In this conversation, Leonne and Heather talk about all of it. The mom guilt that follows you even when you are doing everything right. The way good parents tend to question themselves more, not less. The difference between making a mistake and being one. Learning to look at a difficult childhood not with bitterness but with understanding. And what it actually looks like to build a different story for your children without erasing your own. This one is for the mom who is tired of apologizing for being exactly who she is. Topics covered: * Growing up in survival mode and what it teaches you about resilience * Becoming the parent you needed without a blueprint to follow * Mom guilt, self-compassion, and knowing the difference * Breaking generational cycles of abuse and emotional shutdown * Choosing your children without losing yourself in the process * Why the hardest-working moms are usually the ones who doubt themselves most Connect with Heather McNally: Life Beyond B.S. Podcast | Happy, Healthy, Whole Program Website - https://www.heathermcnally.com [https://www.heathermcnally.com] fb - https://www.facebook.com/share/1BQ4kEpguS/?mibextid=wwXIfr [https://www.facebook.com/share/1BQ4kEpguS/?mibextid=wwXIfr] IG - https://www.instagram.com/heather_a_mcnally?igsh=dWtiNzhuaXBhbGhm&utm_source=qr [https://www.instagram.com/heather_a_mcnally?igsh=dWtiNzhuaXBhbGhm&utm_source=qr] LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-mcnally-757ab52a?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_ios [https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-mcnally-757ab52a?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_ios] Connect with Leonne: TheWonderMama.com | @thewondermamaplace | The WonderMama Place on Skool