17. Teen Mom Wins Beautifully—Against the Odds with Shaleea Varney

For me, raising an infant was complicated enough on its own and I was a full grown woman! You can read all the books you want, but all of that nitty-gritty, not-so-pretty stuff is something no one prepares you for (Mamas, you all know what I’m talking about!). Now, imagine doing all of that at 16—and not only creating a surviving relationship out of it, but one that’s still loving and thriving, almost two decades later.Today, I’m welcoming Shaleea Varney, a woman who truly wears many, many hats. Shaleea is a best selling author, a podcast host, an internationally known speaker, a licenced nurse, a master certified life and relationship coach… AND a mama and wife!Tune in and listen to episode seventeen of Mamaste with Tanika Ray. Shaleea and I talk about what it was like for her when she had her first child at 16, the expectations of men and women’s roles in relationships, and how our parents’ relationships can be models of what we want and what we absolutely don’t.Some Questions I ask:How did you end up writing a book? How did you know your voice was important? (05:10)When you first went viral, what were people really connecting with? (11:36)What do men bring to the table? (15:35)What was it like as a kid raising a kid? And what jewels did you discover along the way? (24:00)Why do we, as Black people, continue to worship a white Jesus when every indication is that he was brown? (37:15)In This Episode, You Will Learn:My frustration and disillusionment with the utopian narrative I got from my pregnancy books (10:01)How Shaleea and her husband are best friends and that’s what keeps them successful in the long (long!) term (17:54)The way Shaleea and her husband created a thriving relationship at such a young age (20:40)When Shaleea found out she was pregnant, everyone immediately wrote her off, despite her being an incredibly high achiever (24:09)The difficulties of practicing self love as a Black woman (27:29)Connect with Shaleea:WebsiteBooks by Shaleea VenneyInstagramPodcastTikTokLet’s Connect!WebsiteFacebookInstagramYouTubeTwitter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.