Brave Together Podcast: Support and Community for Caregiving Moms

Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to today’s Story episode, #269. These are true stories from a moment in the life of someone connected to the caregiving experience. We hear a crafted story, and then have a conversation with our guest that goes deeper into their experience.
Today, Jessica Patay and Susanna Peace Lovell sit down with Sheena Brevig, who shares her experience growing up with a disabled brother and what it has meant to navigate life as a sibling, or "sib."
For many sibs, their family experience is simply what they've always known. But as they grow older, they may begin to recognize how their sibling's disability has shaped their identity, relationships, responsibilities, and understanding of themselves.
Sheena reflects on the cultural expectations surrounding family and caregiving, the complicated emotions that can come with being a sib, and the importance of having language to describe experiences that often go unspoken.
Together, they explore how therapy, self-reflection, and storytelling can help siblings better understand their experiences. Sheena also discusses the power of representation in films like Wonder and how seeing sibling experiences reflected in stories can offer validation and connection.
Jessica, Susanna, and Sheena also discuss what caregiving moms can do to support all of their children, including making space for difficult emotions, encouraging independence, and allowing siblings to develop identities beyond their roles within the family.
Perhaps most importantly, Sheena reminds us that siblings don't have to feel grateful or positive about every part of their experience. They can love their brother or sister deeply while also acknowledging that some parts of growing up with disability in the family are difficult.
For the sibs listening, your feelings are valid, your story matters, and you are not alone. And for the caregiving moms raising multiple children, this conversation offers an opportunity to better understand and support the sibling experience.
We see you, and we love you!
We are incredibly grateful to Rise Educational Advocacy for sponsoring Season 11 of Brave Together Podcast and for supporting our mission to strengthen and encourage caregiving moms. Find more information about Rise here. 
Follow Sheena Brevig on social media here.
Follow Sib as a Human here.
Find more information about Life Coach, Susanna Peace Lovell here.
Find Susanna’s book, Your True Self is Enough here.
Find our first book from We Are Brave Together, Becoming Brave Together here.
Find our second book from We Are Brave Together, Suddenly Brave Together here. 
Find FULL episodes and clips of our podcast on Youtube here.
Brave Together is the podcast for We are Brave Together, a not-for-profit organization based in the USA. The heart of We Are Brave Together is to strengthen, encourage, inspire and validate all moms of children with disabilities and other needs in their unique journeys. 
JOIN the international community of We Are Brave Together here. 
Donate to support all of We Are Brave Together's programs and offerings here. 
Can’t get enough of the Brave Together Podcast? Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Youtube. 
Feel free to contact Jessica Patay via email: jpatay@wearebravetogether.org 
If you have any topic requests or if you would like to share a story, leave us a message here.
Please leave a review and rating today! We thank you in advance!
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Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to today’s Expert episode, #268, with Richard Spurling. These are conversations with experts in fields relevant to caregiving moms.
Today, Jessica Patay and Susanna Peace Lovell sit down with Richard Spurling, founder of ACEing Autism, to talk about creating inclusive opportunities for autistic and neurodivergent children through tennis.
Richard shares how ACEing Autism began, how the organization has grown, and what he has learned from years of adapting tennis instruction to meet children where they are. What may begin as learning how to hold a racket or hit a ball can also create opportunities to develop motor skills, body awareness, confidence, social skills, and connection.
They also explore what it takes to build a truly inclusive sports program—from recruiting and training volunteers to making programs financially accessible and creating an environment where children with different needs and abilities can participate.
But the community doesn't end on the tennis court. Richard discusses the relationships that develop between families, the role of parent support networks, and why programs like ACEing Autism can offer families something that extends far beyond the sport itself.
Richard also shares some of the children whose progress has stayed with him, the organization's plans for continued expansion, and his ambitious goal of reaching 500 programs by 2030.
Whether your child already loves sports or you've wondered whether there is a place where they could comfortably participate, this conversation is a reminder of what can happen when we adapt the opportunity to the child instead of asking the child to adapt to the opportunity.
We see you, and we love you!
We are incredibly grateful to Rise Educational Advocacy for sponsoring Season 11 of Brave Together Podcast and for supporting our mission to strengthen and encourage caregiving moms.
Find more about ACEing Autism here. 
Find more information about Life Coach, Susanna Peace Lovell here.
Find Susanna’s book, Your True Self is Enough here.
Find our first book from We Are Brave Together, Becoming Brave Together here.
Find our second book from We Are Brave Together, Suddenly Brave Together here. 
Find FULL episodes and clips of our podcast on Youtube here.
Brave Together is the podcast for We are Brave Together, a not-for-profit organization based in the USA. The heart of We Are Brave Together is to strengthen, encourage, inspire and validate all moms of children with disabilities and other needs in their unique journeys. 
JOIN the international community of We Are Brave Together here. 
Donate to support all of We Are Brave Together's programs and offerings here. 
Can’t get enough of the Brave Together Podcast? Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Youtube. 
Feel free to contact Jessica Patay via email: jpatay@wearebravetogether.org 
If you have any topic requests or if you would like to share a story, leave us a message here.
Please leave a review and rating today! We thank you in advance!
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Hello Brave Friends! Today we have a special collaboration episode with Sarah Trott and Esther Gallagher of the Fourth Trimester Podcast, hosted by Jessica Patay and Susanna Peace Lovell.
We spend so much time preparing for pregnancy and birth, but what about everything that happens after the baby arrives?
Sarah and Esther join Jessica and Susanna for a conversation about the fourth trimester and why postpartum support deserves far more attention than it often receives. They explore the physical and emotional changes that happen after birth, the concept of matrescence, and why postpartum isn't necessarily a short period that ends after a few weeks or months.
They also discuss the role of postpartum doulas and other support professionals, the importance of building a support system before it's needed, and the ways community and extended family can affect maternal mental health and well-being.
The conversation looks beyond individual families, too. Sarah and Esther discuss barriers to accessing postpartum care, gaps in birth and postpartum education, the role of medical professionals, and the systemic changes needed to better support mothers and families. They also explore what we can learn from cultures and traditions that have historically treated postpartum recovery as a time when mothers should be cared for rather than expected to immediately return to normal.
For caregiving moms, this conversation also raises an important question: What happens when an already challenging postpartum season includes medical complexities, disabilities, or other unexpected needs? Jessica, Susanna, Sarah, and Esther discuss the importance of education, advocacy, community, and creating systems of support that recognize the needs of the whole family.
Whether you're preparing for postpartum, reflecting on your own experience, or looking for ways we can better care for mothers during this enormous life transition, this conversation is a reminder that support shouldn't be a luxury.
We see you, and we love you!
We are incredibly grateful to Rise Educational Advocacy for sponsoring Season 11 of Brave Together Podcast and for supporting our mission to strengthen and encourage caregiving moms. Find more info on Rise Educational Advocacy here. 
Find more on The Fourth Trimester podcast here. 
Subscribe to The Fourth Trimester podcast here. 
Find more information about Life Coach, Susanna Peace Lovell here.
Find Susanna’s book, Your True Self is Enough here.
Find our first book from We Are Brave Together, Becoming Brave Together here.
Find our second book from We Are Brave Together, Suddenly Brave Together here. 
Find FULL episodes and clips of our podcast on Youtube here.
Brave Together is the podcast for We are Brave Together, a not-for-profit organization based in the USA. The heart of We Are Brave Together is to strengthen, encourage, inspire and validate all moms of children with disabilities and other needs in their unique journeys. 
JOIN the international community of We Are Brave Together here. 
Donate to support all of We Are Brave Together's programs and offerings here. 
Can’t get enough of the Brave Together Podcast? Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Youtube. 
Feel free to contact Jessica Patay via email: jpatay@wearebravetogether.org 
If you have any topic requests or if you would like to share a story, leave us a message here.
Please leave a review and rating today! We thank you in advance!
Disclaimer

Hello Brave Friends! This is an Ask Us Anything episode in which YOU, the listener, get to write or call in and, you guessed it, ask us anything!
In this Ask Us Anything episode, #266, we’re responding to the question:
“I can speak for a lot of us moms out here. We are stretched to capacity, stretched so thin, and have no margin for anything unexpected. And yet the unexpected is inevitable. Help!”
Jessica Patay, Susanna Peace Lovell, and Dr. Zoe are talking about capacity—what it actually means, how we know when we’ve reached ours, and why caregiving moms so often find themselves living with absolutely nothing left in reserve.
Together, they unpack the difference between capacity and margin: capacity is the limit of what we can handle, while margin is the space we leave between our daily load and that limit. And for caregivers, that margin can disappear quickly. Between parenting, appointments, work, household responsibilities, relationships, advocacy, and the endless mental load, overwhelm can start to feel like the default.
Jessica, Susanna, and Dr. Zoe get honest about the expectations women and mothers place on themselves, people pleasing, overachieving, and the pressure to prove our worth through how much we can accomplish. They challenge the idea that being a loving, devoted caregiver means endlessly sacrificing yourself—and offer the important reminder that your capacity is not a measure of your devotion.
They also share practical ways they’ve learned to protect their own capacity: creating personal rules and boundaries, questioning the things we tell ourselves we “have to” do, being more intentional about our yeses, letting messages wait, and recognizing that not everything on our plates carries the same emotional weight.
Sometimes creating margin means asking yourself a deceptively simple question: Do I actually have to do this?
And yes, setting boundaries can feel scary. People may be disappointed. We may fear judgment or rejection. But the people who truly love and support us can respect our boundaries—and what initially feels frightening may ultimately create freedom.
This conversation is your permission to pause, take inventory of everything you’re carrying, and consider what you might be able to put down.
Keep the vulnerable questions coming. We’re here to support you!
We see you, and we love you.
We are incredibly grateful to Rise Educational Advocacy for sponsoring Season 11 of Brave Together Podcast and for supporting our mission to strengthen and encourage caregiving moms. Find more information about Rise here. 
Find more information about Licensed Psychotherapist, Dr. Zoe here. 
Find Dr. Zoe’s book, Stronger in the Difficult Places: Heal Your Relationship with Yourself by Untangling Complex Shame here.
Find more information about Life Coach, Susanna Peace Lovell here.
Find Susanna’s book, Your True Self is Enough here.
Find our first book from We Are Brave Together, Becoming Brave Together here.
Find our second book from We Are Brave Together, Suddenly Brave Together here. 
Find FULL episodes and clips of our podcast on Youtube here.
Brave Together is the podcast for We are Brave Together, a not-for-profit organization based in the USA. The heart of We Are Brave Together is to strengthen, encourage, inspire and validate all moms of children with disabilities and other needs in their unique journeys. 
JOIN the international community of We Are Brave Together here. 
Donate to support all of We Are Brave Together's programs and offerings here. 
Can’t get enough of the Brave Together Podcast? Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Youtube. 
Feel free to contact Jessica Patay via email: jpatay@wearebravetogether.org 
If you have any topic requests or if you would like to share a story, leave us a message here.
Please leave a review and rating today! We thank you in advance!
Disclaimer

Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to today's Expert episode, #265, with Dr. Sundeep Dugar. These are conversations with experts in fields relevant to caregiving parents.
In this episode, Jessica Patay and Susanna Peace Lovell sit down with Dr. Sundeep Dugar to explore the science behind caregiver stress, exhaustion, and burnout—and what is actually happening inside our bodies when our energy reserves are continually depleted.
Dr. Dugar explains why energy is fundamental to virtually everything our bodies do and takes us down to the cellular level to understand mitochondria, the powerhouses responsible for producing the energy our bodies need to function. Together, they explore how the constant physical, mental, and emotional demands of caregiving affect that energy supply and why caregivers can find themselves running on empty.
The conversation also looks at the ways our energy reserves change as we age and how sleep, nutrition, and exercise can support energy production and resilience. Dr. Dugar explains the critical role of sleep in allowing both the brain and body to recover, including why our sleep cycles and REM sleep matter.
Using the analogy of energy as a bank account, Dr. Dugar helps Jessica and Susanna examine what happens when caregivers continually make withdrawals without enough opportunities to replenish their reserves. They discuss practical strategies caregivers can use to make those important “deposits” and better support their bodies through the ongoing demands of caregiving.
This conversation offers a fascinating look at caregiver burnout from the inside out—and a reminder that caring for our own health and energy isn't separate from caregiving. It's part of what allows us to keep going.
We see you, and we love you!
We are incredibly grateful to Rise Educational Advocacy for sponsoring Season 11 of Brave Together Podcast and for supporting our mission to strengthen and encourage caregiving moms. Find more information about Rise here. 
Find out more about Dr. Dugar and Blue Oak NX here.
Follow Dr. Dugar on social media here. 
Find more information about Life Coach, Susanna Peace Lovell here.
Find Susanna’s book, Your True Self is Enough here.
Find our first book from We Are Brave Together, Becoming Brave Together here.
Find our second book from We Are Brave Together, Suddenly Brave Together here. 
Find FULL episodes and clips of our podcast on Youtube here.
Brave Together is the podcast for We are Brave Together, a not-for-profit organization based in the USA. The heart of We Are Brave Together is to strengthen, encourage, inspire and validate all moms of children with disabilities and other needs in their unique journeys. 
JOIN the international community of We Are Brave Together here. 
Donate to support all of We Are Brave Together's programs and offerings here. 
Can’t get enough of the Brave Together Podcast? Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Youtube. 
Feel free to contact Jessica Patay via email: jpatay@wearebravetogether.org 
If you have any topic requests or if you would like to share a story, leave us a message here.
Please leave a review and rating today! We thank you in advance!
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