The Motherless Mothers

We're back! In this first episode of Season 3, it's just the two of us, Lou and Adina, taking a moment to catch up after the summer and share where we're at.We talk about what's changing this season, including moving to video and two episodes a month, and why this community means so much to us.If you're new here, welcome. This is a space for honest conversations about motherhood without a mum.We've got some amazing guests coming up, so stay tuned.Love,Lou & AdinaWe share these stories to uplift community voices; views are the contributors’ own and we don’t assume responsibility for their accuracy or content.

This is the final episode of Season 2, and before we dive into a brand new season, we're taking a moment to pause and reflect.Over the past year, we've had so many honest conversations about what it means to mother without your own mum. We've explored grief, estrangement, identity, resilience, and the many different ways mother loss shapes our lives and our experience of motherhood.In this episode, we're talking about what we've learned, what has stayed with us, and what this season has taught us—not just as hosts, but as women and mothers ourselves.We're also sharing a personal update, chatting about what's next for us and the podcast, and giving you a little glimpse into Season 3.Whether you've listened to every episode or you've only just found us, thank you for being here. This community means so much to us, and we're so grateful you're part of it.Love,Lou & Adina xx

In this deeply moving episode, we sit down with Nafisah, founder of Nest to Nurture, to explore her journey of losing her mum at just 15 years old – and how that loss has shaped her life, her motherhood and her career.Together, we unpack the cultural practices, expectations and unspoken nuances of grieving within a Muslim community, and how faith and tradition can both support and complicate the grieving process.Nafisah shares how her personal experience of navigating motherhood without her own mother inspired her to create Nest to Nurture – a compassionate postpartum support service helping other women feel held, nurtured and never alone.Love,Lou & AdinaWe share these stories to uplift community voices; views are the contributors’ own and we don’t assume responsibility for their accuracy or content.

In this episode, we’re joined by Sam Rose—Emmy Award-winning TV producer, NY Times bestselling ghostwriter, and author of the memoir Giving Up the Ghost.After losing her mother to suicide in 2020, Sam found herself grappling with a kind of grief that resists easy understanding—shock, unanswered questions, and the search for meaning in something that feels inherently senseless.What began as note-taking became something deeper. Through writing—and through unexpected experiences that followed—Sam began to piece together not just her mother’s story but also her own.In this conversation, we explore mother loss through suicide, the complexity of grief without answers, and what it means to lose your voice—and slowly find your way back to it.This is a conversation about silence, identity, and the courage to step out of the shadows.We’re honored to share these community voices—what’s shared reflects personal views, and we can’t take responsibility for the accuracy or content.LoveLou & Adina You can find Sam’s book Giving Up the Ghost here.Sam’s website is here.Find Sam on IG here.Follow TMM on IG here, and our website is here. 

We’ve told our stories before, but this feels like a different conversation. More about where we are now, what’s changed with our grief, what’s still the same and how being in this work is shaping our own experience of grief in ways we didn’t necessarily expect. TMM is two years old, and we are working so hard to bring this dream to life – but what does that feel like for us and our own experiences of losing our mothers? We realised we’ve never really sat down and had this conversation—just us. Not about what happened, but about what it feels like now. In this episode, we talk about the reality of living with mother loss at different stages of life, how it shows up in our motherhood, and how doing this work has shaped our own grief in ways we didn’t expect. It’s a conversation about difference, overlap, and everything that’s still evolving.Love,Adina & Lou

Clare has experienced a form of grief and loss that started in childhood. She felt unsupported growing up, which developed into her feelings towards her mum being invalidated by the rest of her family. Clare has journeyed a painful path, but one that she has also led to empowerment as she focuses on raising her own two grown-up boys. Clare talks to us today to set the record straight on that impossible choice of cutting contact, a choice only few people seem to understand, making it an often lonely path to journey.Love,Lou & AdinaWe’re honoured to share these community voices—what’s shared reflects personal views, and we can’t take responsibility for the accuracy or content.

Geraldine’s experience of mother loss didn’t come through death, but through the painful decision to walk away.After years of being her mother’s carer from the age of 12, Geraldine found herself in a deeply enmeshed and emotionally harmful relationship. As she grew older and began building a life and family of her own, the dynamic intensified—control, manipulation, and isolation became part of her reality.Eight years ago, she made the difficult decision to go no-contact.In this episode, we explore estrangement as a form of mother loss—something rarely spoken about, yet deeply felt. Geraldine shares what it means to grieve someone who is still alive, how that loss shaped her identity, and the impact it had on her own journey into motherhood.We talk about boundaries, guilt, healing, and what it takes to rebuild yourself after growing up in enmeshment.This is a conversation about a different kind of loss—the kind that doesn’t always get recognised but changes everything.Love,Lou & AdinaWe’re honoured to share these community voices—what’s shared reflects personal views, and we can’t take responsibility for the accuracy or content.

Geri is mum to two boys and a mum-influencer with over 30,000 followers. She’s musical and cares deeply for young people, a love that led her to run London Music Box, a musical school for students on the Autism Spectrum and mainstream students. But what Geri doesn’t always share is that she lost her best friend seven years ago, her mum. Even saying her name brings tears to Geri’s eyes.We’re chatting with Geri about what first-time pregnancy without a mum in Covid looked like; the truth about living with postpartum psychosis and how Geri overcame this; and why being a motherless mum will always shape everything she stands for in motherhood.Love, Lou & AdinaFind out more about The Motherless Mothers Charity here

Sophie lost her mother as a teenager—a loss that shaped not just her grief but the woman, mother, and leader she would become. Now a mother of two young sons, Sophie reflects on what it means to grow up without a mother while raising children of her own and how that early loss continues to echo through everyday moments of motherhood.In this episode, we explore losing your mother during your formative years, how grief evolves from adolescence into adulthood, parenting without a maternal reference point, the ongoing impact of mother loss across life stages, and building something meaningful because of what you’ve lostSophie isn’t just a community member; she helps shape The Motherless Mothers charity into what it is becoming today. Sophie supports the charity behind the scenes as a trustee and was instrumental in bringing the TMM community from online into real life—even co-hosting our very first London supper club and helping create spaces where women can connect face-to-face in their grief.This is a conversation about legacy—not just what we lose, but what we go on to build.Love,Adina & LouWe’re honoured to share these community voices—what’s shared reflects personal views, and we can’t take responsibility for the accuracy or content.

 Lou is a woman in business - she owns her own business, she’s a creative director and has been shaping businesses from the ground up since 2004. In recent years, she has embraced personal healing, creating space from her mum to reflect, grow and reconnect with herself. We sit down with Lou today to talk estrangement, making the right choices for you and how creativity has played a part in her story. We’re honoured to share these community voices—what’s shared reflects personal views, and we can’t take responsibility for the accuracy or content.