How to Connect with Your Children: The Surprising Science of “Good Enough” Parenting

49. The Courage to Fall Apart: Eating Disorders, Dropping Out, and Finding Herself (Pt. 1 of 2)

What happens when a teenager who's never been allowed to say "I'm scared" gets put on a plane alone to Hong Kong? Haley Taylor opens up about a high-achieving childhood, a teenage eating disorder, and dropping out of high school — and the solo international trip that taught her she could trust herself. A raw conversation about courage, mental health, and redefining success. Meet Haley Taylor: Wife, mother of four, and entrepreneur who runs the international art-easel business behind her husband Brian's invention. Haley coaches beginning riders on her local youth mountain bike team and raises backyard sheep, ducks, and bees. A teenage mental health crisis and a solo trip to Hong Kong at sixteen shaped her lifelong definition of courage. Takeaways: • Being Sendy isn't about being hardcore — it's being brave enough to try • A fixed mindset of "you're smart so you must succeed" makes it unsafe to attempt anything new • Tough exteriors often hide fear instead of processing it — and that's not sustainable • Expressing fear doesn't make you weak; it's part of doing hard things anyway • A mental health crisis can become the turning point that redefines your sense of worth • Letting your child have their own breakdown — instead of rescuing them — builds real resilience • Stepping in to "fix" a child's problem can unintentionally validate their fear instead of their capability • Redefining success means it's okay to try something and not be the best at it Chapters 00:00 Exposure Therapy 03:30 Growing Up Cautious in a High-Achieving Home 05:45 The High Dive: Learning to Trust Fear Instead of Hiding It 10:53 A Teenage Eating Disorder, Depression, and Dropping Out of Schoo 13:08 Sent Alone to Hong Kong: A Mother's Leap of Faith 19:50 Showing Up Mediocre: The Courage to Try Anyway Resources found here: What 16-Year-Old Haley Taylor Learned About Courage From Getting Stranded in an Airport Alone [https://sendymom.com/2026/06/18/courage-lessons-haley-taylor-sendy-mom/] If you loved this episode, try: 2. Cautiously Crazy with Marty Klinger [https://sendymom.com/2024/09/20/cautiously-crazy-with-marty-klinger/] 22. From $80 to an eBay Business: Sendy Entrepreneurship [https://sendymom.com/2025/05/26/start-where-you-are-building-a-business-and-a-family-with-faith-and-grit/] 31. Planting Positivity: Growing Kids, Gardens, and Relationships [https://sendymom.com/2025/10/13/having-conversations-with-your-daughter-in-law-planting-positivity/] Coaching & Subscribe: 👉 Subscribe: sendymom.com [http://sendymom.com] 👉 Email Becky: becky@sendymom.com [becky@sendymom.com] If you want help to be more sendy, click here [https://beckybcoaching.com] If you're feeling Sendy and would like to be a guest on the show, please fill out this form [https://sendymom.com/2026/06/20/what-16-year-old-haley-taylor-learned-about-courage-from-getting-stranded-in-an-airport-alone/]

Bonus 22. All Shall Be Well: The Radical Courage of Julian of Norwich

What do you do when the world is literally falling apart around you? Julian of Norwich was born into 14th-century England, survived the Black Plague, twice, possibly lost her family, and then voluntarily sealed herself into a single room for thirty years as an anchoress to the chapel Julian in Norwich, England. Her theology was considered radical for her time. Her words have survived wars, revolutions, and the burning of libraries to reach us today. In this Sendy Spotlight, we look into the work of Julian of Norwich. She is believed to be the first woman to write a book in the English language. She had the courage to speak when women were meant to be silent.  Key Takeaways: * Stillness can be its own form of courage * You don’t need credentials to speak truth * Love is a choice, not a feeling * God is not counting your failures * Women have always protected each other’s wisdom * Being strategic is not the same as compromising Find resources here [https://sendymom.com/2026/06/13/when-the-world-falls-apart-lessons-in-courage-from-julian-of-norwich/] Free Coaching & Subscribe: 👉 Subscribe: sendymom.com [http://sendymom.com] 👉 Email Becky: becky@sendymom.com [becky@sendymom.com]  If you want help to be more sendy, click here [http://If%20you%20want%20help%20to%20be%20more%20sendy,%20click%20here%20(https://beckybcoaching.com)]

48. Bridge Souls: One Woman's Miraculous Adoption Journey (Pt. 2 of 2)

What does it look like when divine timing meets radical courage? In Part 2, holistic coach Cherie Burton shares the miraculous stories behind adopting her two youngest children — a son she saw in a spiritual vision years before he arrived, and a daughter who came through six court hearings, a California foster system, and a stranger's recurring dream. Plus rapid fire questions! Meet Cherie Burton: Mother of six and female empowerment coach with 20+ years of experience. Certified holistic practitioner and emotional breakthrough trainer, specializing in Aroma Alchemy. Leads retreats worldwide and runs an international wellness business. (Missed Part 1? Start there [https://sendymom.com/2026/05/30/the-art-of-emotional-alchemy-4-courageous-lessons-from-cherie-burton-on-healing-your-shadows-your-lineage-and-your-life/] for shadow work, alchemy & the dark night of the soul.) Takeaways • Adoptees are "bridge souls" who choose their families to heal lineage wounds • Divine timing rarely looks like what we expect — trust the process • Birth mothers carry deep shame that needs compassion, not judgment • The primal wound in adoptees is real and worth understanding • We are never fully healed — just learning to love exactly where we are • The most courageous thing is sometimes to wait, stay open, and trust • Connection is the foundation of all healing work Chapters 00:00 Cherie's Adoption Journey 00:15:00 The Importance of Connection 00:17:04 Rapid Fire Questions Resources found here: The Art of Emotional Alchemy: 4 Courageous Lessons from Cherie Burton on Healing Your Shadows, Your Lineage, and Your Life [https://sendymom.com/2026/05/30/the-art-of-emotional-alchemy-4-courageous-lessons-from-cherie-burton-on-healing-your-shadows-your-lineage-and-your-life/] If you loved this episode, try: 33. The Recipe for Resilience: Illness, Influence, and Inspiration [https://sendymom.com/2025/11/10/the-recipe-for-resilience-illness-influence-and-inspiration/] 38. Digital Detox and Upload Humanity with Amy Antonelli of HXP [https://sendymom.com/2026/02/02/digital-detox-and-upload-humanity-with-amy-antonelli-of-hxp/] 1. Radical Acceptance with Miriam Wood [https://sendymom.com/2024/09/08/radical-acceptance-with-miriam/] Coaching & Subscribe: 👉 Subscribe: sendymom.com [http://sendymom.com] 👉 Email Becky: becky@sendymom.com [becky@sendymom.com] If you want help to be more sendy, click here [https://beckybcoaching.com/] If you're feeling Sendy and would like to be a guest on the show, please fill out this form [https://forms.gle/BSyr8JJZM828vzqH7]

47. The Dark Night of the Soul: A Guide to Spiritual Awakening and Transformation (Pt. 1 of 2)

What if your darkest shadows held your greatest wisdom? Holistic coach Cherie Burton joins Becky to explore shadow work, emotional alchemy, and breaking generational trauma cycles—sharing her profound journey through loss, a seven-year dark night of the soul, and two miraculous adoptions. Meet Cherie Burton Mother of six and female empowerment coach with 20+ years of experience in mind-body science, holistic emotional healing, philosophy, and depth psychology. Certified holistic practitioner and emotional breakthrough trainer. Since 2008, specializing in Aroma Alchemy—mind/heart/soul coherence through breathwork, anointing, and essential oils. Leads retreats worldwide. Takeaways * Shadow work means embracing your darkness, not eliminating it * Alchemy transmutes emotional pain into wisdom—not suppression * Feel emotions fully (even 90 seconds) to prevent physical illness * A dark night of the soul is a spiritual initiation, not a breakdown * Surrender is letting go of what you know so your body can teach you * Adoptees are "bridge souls" healing family lineage wounds * Inner authority activates when you admit "I don't know" * Healing yourself heals your entire lineage—past and future Chapters 00:00 Introducing Cherie Burton: Female Empowerment Coach 05:45 When You Can Change The Family Dynamic 12:32 Pivoting from Traditional Methods for Mental Health Help 15:11 Epigenetics and Alchemy Explained 21:06 Shadow Work Through Alchemy 29:33 Real Experience with Ayahuasca 35:09 The Journey of Self-Discovery 40:33 Practical Ways to Process Emotion 42:03 The Dark Night Of The Soul Resources found here: The Art of Emotional Alchemy: 4 Courageous Lessons from Cherie Burton on Healing Your Shadows, Your Lineage, and Your Life [https://sendymom.com/2026/05/30/the-art-of-emotional-alchemy-4-courageous-lessons-from-cherie-burton-on-healing-your-shadows-your-lineage-and-your-life/] If you loved this episode, try: 33. The Recipe for Resilience: Illness, Influence, and Inspiration [https://sendymom.com/2025/11/10/the-recipe-for-resilience-illness-influence-and-inspiration/] 38. Digital Detox and Upload Humanity with Amy Antonelli of HXP [https://sendymom.com/2026/02/02/digital-detox-and-upload-humanity-with-amy-antonelli-of-hxp/] 1. Radical Acceptance with Miriam Wood [https://sendymom.com/] Coaching & Subscribe: 👉 Subscribe: sendymom.com [http://sendymom.com] 👉 Email Becky: becky@sendymom.com [becky@sendymom.com] If you want help to be more sendy, click here [https://beckybcoaching.com/] If you're feeling Sendy and would like to be a guest on the show, please fill out this form [https://forms.gle/BSyr8JJZM828vzqH7]

46. Tension, Release, and the Beautiful Mess of a Courageous Life — Christie Skousen Part 2

What happens when a woman built for intensity has no outlet for it? For Christie Skousen, the answer was redirecting all of it toward her five-month-old — and quickly realizing that wasn't going to work. Part 2 picks up with Christie rebuilding: starting the Peery Piano Academy from scratch, writing a curriculum for the San Francisco Conservatory prep program, and slowly figuring out who she was beyond the piano. But this half of the conversation goes somewhere deeper. Christie talks about the cycles she's noticed throughout her life — expansion and contraction, like musical phrasing — and how the blow-ups she never would have chosen (her parents' divorce at 23, losing her older brother to colon cancer at 48, her own 26-year marriage ending) have each broken her open into something bigger. She shares what she's learned about separating her identity from her children's outcomes, why living abroad changed everything about how she parents, and where she's headed next now that her youngest is off to Sydney for a year abroad. Rapid fire answers, a beautiful musical analogy for life that will stay with you, and Christie's honest, grounded take on doing divorce well — Part 2 is the kind of conversation you want to go on forever. Meet Christie Skousen, Founder of the Peery Piano Academy and author of the Peery Method. Trained under Dr. Irene Peery-Fox, Dmitri Boshkirov, and Leon Fleisher at Peabody. An international competition winner and soloist, her students have gone on to Harvard, Yale, Juilliard, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, and more. Takeaways: * Know where your intensity is going. * Life has phrasing, just like music. * Big blow-ups break you open. * Separate your identity from your kids' outcomes. * Travel expands your world — and your parenting. Chapters: 00:00 Teaching as a Path to Independence 03:43 Parenting with Intensity and Balance 05:07 Make Your Money Work For You 07:06 The Peery Method is Born 09:26 Writing New Chapters in Motherhood 11:07 Navigating Life's Expansions and Contractions 13:44 The Impact of Divorce on Personal Growth 18:06 Embracing Change and New Beginnings 19:02 Parenting Young Adults 25:48 How Living Abroad Broadens Your Horizon 27:57 Rapid Fire Questions Resources: How to Survive Life's Blow-Ups: Lessons from a World-Class Pianist and Mom [https://sendymom.com/2026/05/16/how-to-survive-lifes-blow-ups-lessons-from-a-world-class-pianist-and-mom/] If You Loved This Episode, Try: * 12. Music, Disability Parenting, and Playing for the Love of It [https://sendymom.com/2025/01/03/the-performance-technique-that-will-change-your-life-with-christie-sowby/] * 29. How to Push Past Limits and Find Your "Current Perfect" [https://sendymom.com/2025/09/15/how-to-push-past-limits-and-find-your-current-perfect/] * 37. Resilient Parenting, Risk-Taking, and Medical Aesthetics Done Right [https://sendymom.com/2026/01/19/resilient-parenting-risk-taking-and-medical-aesthetics-done-right/] Subscribe & Connect: 👉 Subscribe: sendymom.com [http://sendymom.com] 👉 Email Becky: becky@sendymom.com [becky@sendymom.com]  Becky’s Free Coaching Calendar [https://calendly.com/becky-sendymom/30min]