Show Notes
Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 10th November 2026. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off. Trigger Warning: This episode includes a personal discussion of bereavement and the sudden death of a sibling. How do you start believing in yourself? What if you have no idea what you want to do next? And what does returning to work look like when you’re grieving? This week, I’m doing something a little different and answering your questions. It’s an honest, personal episode covering everything from why I stopped eating refined sugar to the small promises that have helped me build trust in myself. I share five exercises to help you find clarity around your next career move, especially if you’re staring at a blank page wondering where to begin. We explore what gives you energy, what jealousy might be telling you and why your ideal working day matters just as much as a job title. Finally, I answer the hardest question: how I’m navigating life and work following the sudden death of my younger brother. I share why returning to something I love has felt like a sanctuary, how I’m allowing the grief to come in waves, and what caring for myself looks like right now. 💡 In this episode, I share:Why I gave up refined sugar and my personal experience of the change.
How keeping small promises to yourself can build confidence.
Why courage comes before feeling ready.
Five practical exercises to help you figure out your next career move.
How someone else’s success can become evidence of what’s possible for you.
My experience of grief, finding support and returning to work.
Watch every full episode on YouTube and subscribe. Loved this episode? Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing. If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy this episode: How to build true confidence (and then teach it to your children) Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet Connect with Zoe: Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok
Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’
This Motherkind episode is sponsored by: Headline sponsor: Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.
Grape Tree Feel Good Foods. Buy online at Grapetree.co.uk or find your local store
More from Motherkind
Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off. When you’re caring for a newborn, who’s making sure you’re being cared for too? In this Motherkind Moment, nutrition researcher and author Dr Federica Amati joins Zoe to explore why looking after ourselves can feel so difficult after birth, just when our bodies need support the most. Drawing on her own experience of becoming a mother, Federica shares why knowing what to do isn’t always enough, and how practical help can make all the difference. From a freezer full of meals to setting boundaries with visitors, this is a reassuring reminder that your recovery matters too. 💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:Why your nutritional needs increase when you’re breastfeeding
Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 10th November 2026. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off. Do you find yourself apologising for leaving work on time? For missing the team drinks? For not always being available? You don’t need to make up for being a mother. And yet, so many of us feel we have to hide our family commitments or work twice as hard to prove we’re still capable. In this special compilation episode, Zoe brings together three powerful conversations with Vanessa Kingori, the first woman to lead British Vogue's publishing business; Emma Grede, co-founder of Good American; and Michelle Kennedy, founder of Peanut. Each shares a different perspective on motherhood and ambition, from challenging workplace double standards to protecting family time and finding the confidence to say what you need. If you’ve ever felt guilty for wanting a fulfilling career, or worried that setting a boundary might make you seem less committed, this episode is for you. 💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:Why Vanessa chose to make her pregnancy more visible after being advised to keep motherhood quiet
Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off. Do you ever get to the end of the day and focus on everything you got wrong, rather than everything you’ve held together? In this week’s Motherkind Moment, Zoe is joined by life coach Dior Bediako, founder of Pepper Your Talk, whose clients include Rochelle Humes and author Elizabeth Uviebinené. Dior shares a simple way to rethink how you speak to yourself: would you say those same words to your best friend? Together, Zoe and Dior explore how to take responsibility without blaming yourself, and why the moments when you find it hardest to be kind to yourself are often when you need it most. Whether you’ve shouted when you wanted to stay calm or feel torn between work and your children, this is a reminder that you can acknowledge what you’d like to do differently without tearing yourself down. 💡 In this moment, we explore: How to speak to yourself with the kindness you’d offer your best friend
Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off. Everyone expects your baby to change. But who prepares you for how much you’ll change too? If you’ve ever wondered “Where have I gone?” or felt that you should have figured motherhood out by now, this solo episode is for you. Zoe shares ten things everyone needs to know about matrescence: the physical, emotional and psychological transformation of becoming a mother. She explores why your identity, relationships, priorities and ambitions can feel different, and why adjusting to motherhood can take far longer than we’re led to believe. Through her jigsaw puzzle analogy, Zoe explains what it means to rebuild your life with children in the picture. She also reflects on the loneliness of feeling different inside while everyone around you still expects the old version of you. Whether you’re a new mum or years into motherhood, this episode offers language for what you’re experiencing and a little more compassion for the woman you’re becoming. 💡 In this episode, you’ll learn: What matrescence means and why understanding it can change how you see yourself
Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off. Does it ever feel like you’re the one who has to remember everything? The school dates, the appointments, the birthday presents, the never-ending list running through your head—even when you’re supposed to be resting. In this Motherkind Moment, Zoe and Jada explore the invisible mental load of motherhood, why we so often become the default parent, and how to start sharing responsibility without having to oversee everything ourselves. They also discuss the skills motherhood gives us—from clearer communication to prioritisation—and why becoming a mother can make us better leaders. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by everything you’re holding, this conversation offers a starting point for change. 💡 In this Moment, you’ll learn: Why the mental load can feel relentless, even when nobody else can see it.