Show Notes
Have you ever hit rock bottom? I know I have—not with drugs or alcohol, but through anxiety, over-mothering my kids, or letting my mind hijack my ability to feel gratitude and joy. Today’s guest, Lara Love Hardin, is a powerful example of what it takes to rise from absolute rock bottom. Lara’s journey is extraordinary: from suburban soccer mom to opioid addict, incarcerated felon, and now bestselling author and advocate. Her memoir, The Many Lives of Mama Love, is a 2024 Oprah Book Club pick ...
More from Cracking Open with Molly Carroll
I'm recording this intro from a very quiet house. I just dropped off my daughter, my last kiddo, at college. On the drive home, it hit me: I feel most at ease and most alive as a mom in the everyday moments. Running errands. Cheering at games. Hearing the car pull in at night. Being a mom has certainly come with plenty of worry and sleepless nights, but I feel most grounded when I'm with my kids and my husband. As much as I miss them, I'm so grateful my kids are out living their lives, and I'...
I've interviewed over 100 people on this podcast, and this conversation hit me in a way none of the others have. It made me reflect deeply on my life and what is still holding me back. And if you've ever been curious about plant medicine, or want to learn anything about it, this is the episode to listen to. Part of what hit me may be timing. I'm taking my daughter, my last kid, to college the day before you hear this episode. One day I'm scared and in tears, and the next I feel a little free,...
Quick heads up: we are talking about grief, death, and all that we can learn from this deep topic today. I know, I know, stay with me. Because we spend so much energy avoiding the one thing that's guaranteed to happen to all of us: death. But I am learning death doesn’t have to be so heavy. It can actually bring so much more light into our lives: perspective, gratitude, appreciation. Those of you who know me or have listened to this show know that I lost both of my parents w...
I’ve been sitting with a strange kind of grief lately, the kind that comes from something good. Both my kids will be in college soon, and I know how lucky I am to say that. Still, I keep hearing the same thing from everyone around me. “Molly, this is your time!” Some days that’s true. I feel free, open, like a whole new chapter is standing right there waiting for me. Other days my heart aches just thinking about the quiet house. No one asking me to make them a sandwich. No shower running in t...
This fall, my youngest, my last one, leaves for college. Twenty-one years of being a mom, and I’m standing at the edge of a chapter I don’t know how to close. When my son left two years ago, I was a wreck. Shame that I was “too attached,” fear of who I am when mothering isn’t my daily identity, questions about my marriage, my life, my self. So when Jodie Patterson agreed to come back on the podcast, the timing felt like more than coincidence. This is Jodie’s third time on Cracking Open: she w...