S2, Ep. 3: Julie on learning how to be a step-mother

Bad Mothers refers to mothers who’ve hurt us, from whom we’re estranged.But it also refers to other kinds of mothers, other kinds of women. I originally meant it as a facetious way to describe myself - I’m a “bad mother” because society thinks motherhood is all women are good for and I’ve decided to not be one.So this season, in addition to continuing my conversations with women who are estranged from their mothers, I wanted to speak to other kinds of mothers — including step moms.This week my stepmother, Julie, joined me for a candid conversation about the complications of being a stepmom — in particular my stepmom, whose role in my life has changed dramatically and several times from when we first met 30 some years ago.I hope our honesty and self-reflection are helpful to other step-mothers and step-daughters who are trying to figure out the dynamic of their relationship. It’s not easy, but like all relationships, if both people are willing to make the effort, it can have great potential. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit monicacardenas.substack.com/subscribe