Ready or Not

Chatting to Yara Heary invokes the familiar comfort that one might feel talking to an older, wiser sibling. She’s a psychologist and a mother of two, but more importantly, she’s just a human doing her best. She doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, because she’s more interested in learning and growing than being right.Here, she candidly shares both her professional and personal reflections when it comes to relationships, motherhood and career, as we talk dropping the plastic balls, enlisting support in whichever way makes sense for you, and why parents need to take time to care for themselves in order to care for their children.----Thanks for listening to Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or leave a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod.In acknowledging the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia, each episode, I’ll be doing a shout out to an indigenous business or charity doing great things.This week, it’s Clothing The Gaps, a fashion label that have become particularly well known for their values-driven slogan tees that celebrate Aboriginal people and culture. You can check them out by searching Clothing the Gaps online. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It only takes a minute of conversation with Clare Kelly to realise the glass is always half full. You won’t hear her complaining about night shift or burnout or going through a separation and a period of single parenting, because she’s just not wired that way.She is, however, wired to be a midwife. Her love for what she does is visceral. She’s fiercely passionate about caring for both mothers and healthcare workers, because both roles, as she knows all too well, can be a tough slog.This was such a fun and frank conversation, and in it, we cover single parenting, midwifery, raising three boys, shift work, burnout and what’s to come for Clare in 2023.In acknowledging the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia, each episode, I’ll be doing a shout out to an indigenous business or charity doing great things.This week, it’s Laundry Gallery, a multidisciplinary creative hub located in Darwin, Australia.Housed in a reimagined iconic 70’s era laundromat, it represents modern iterations of Indigenous art and culture, providing an accessible pathway for age-old stories to co-exist with the modern world.You can check out their beautiful art here or in person in Darwin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trigger warning: this episode discusses pregnancy loss and cancer.From being a small business owner to becoming a doula and surviving cancer to experiencing a pregnancy loss, Charlotte Squires (aka @thelivingdoula) has lived many lives in her 30 years.In this episode, we discuss finding your “why” in work and in parenting, the importance of communication in sharing the load and why the principles of care and support relevant to the work of a doula should apply for life, not just the early postpartum period.We also cover how her family sets up the week so there’s more time for work and fun, when she finds time for her doula work and how to set up support networks and make new friends as an adult.In acknowledging the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia, each week, I’ll be doing a shout out to an indigenous business or charity doing great things.This week it’s the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, a national charity working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remote communities across Australia. I just ordered my son Ray a beautiful book about crocodiles from their online shop, which will support First Nations writing and stories in remote communities. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gabrielle Nancarrow went back to work the day after a D&C procedure following her pregnancy loss. It’s a far cry from the way in which she cares for birthing people as a doula today, but back then, she was flying high in the corporate world as the editorial director at Victoria’s Secret in New York.Her life was fast paced, her work was exciting and her career was thriving.Soon after that loss, another pregnancy would eventually lead to the birth of her first daughter, and with it, like so many mothers before her, a rebirth of Gabrielle.The career goal posts started shifting in that postpartum period, and here, we talk returning to work full time at just four months postpartum, leaving her job and life in New York, and the new career she’s created for herself at home in Melbourne, as a doula, a small business owner, and a published author.In acknowledging the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia, each week, I’ll be doing a shout out to an indigenous business or charity doing great things.This week it’s Common Ground, a First Nations not-for-profit working to shape a society that centres First Nations people by amplifying knowledge, cultures and stories.I particularly love their yearly First Nations Bedtime Stories project, which brings dreaming stories as old as time into homes and classrooms around Australia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.