Hello and Welcome.
Take breath. Arrive. Ahhhhh.
This Substack is a place for women and allies who are not satisfied with the status quo.
We are challenging the norms when it comes to sexual and reproductive health.
We know there is something missing. Something that we never learned in school, from our mom’s or grandmothers.
It wasn’t there fault.
Most never learned it either.
We are finding our own way. We are reclaiming. We are breaking cycles and making cycles whole again.
Here at 3 Generations Wellness, we believe we deserve to know ALL the options when it comes to our cycles, fertility, and reproductive health.
Together, we explore the rich tapestry of women's health, ancestral wisdom, and holistic living.
I do so from my perspective as herbalist, public health researcher/advocate, Fertility Awareness Educator/Coach, and daughter of a mother who was far ahead of her times.
Why 3 Generations Wellness? What does that mean?
There was a time when your mom, your grandmother and the imprint of you were contained in one. At approximately 20 weeks, your mom developed the 6-7 million eggs she’d have in her lifetime. Thus, this very first imprint of you is made not of your mother’s flesh or lived life, but of your grandmother’s. Her joys, stresses, diet, energies were all a part of you from the start. And her grandmother’s a part of hers.
The name 3 Generations Wellness is a call down the matrilineal line and an acknowledgment that this work did not start with me, nor will it end with me.
I picked the name 3 Generations Wellness in deference to this intimate intermingling between us, our grandmother, and mother.
It’s a deep bow to each of them and an acknowledgement that the gifts I share are a hopeful continuation of what they and those before them put into motion.
Furthermore it’s a prayer for the wellbeing of generations to come.
I started this work in infancy, sorta.
While my journey includes many twists and turns, I’ve been seeking alternatives to the medical industrial complex since my infancy. Here’s how it started:
“My baby girl got a series of ear infections. They hit every few weeks, and she would NOT take antibiotics. She spit it out, fought me with her tiny fists, and made it clear there was no way to get that amoxicillin in her. Yup, my daughter's been fierce right from the get-go!” -My mom
My mom eventually found homeopathy, which immediately put an end to my chronic ear infections. She went on to become a renowned holistic healer, using many modalities that identified and addressed the root causes of illness.
While my mom was building her practice and helping thousands of clients untangle chronic illness, lose weight, and otherwise solve intractable health issues, I, her daughter, had grown from the dharma-driving-infant, to a stubborn millennial who questioned her every move.
I wanted to know the science behind her approach. When she explained it to me–she always had rigorous reasoning behind her methods– I pushed back. I saw the evidence effectiveness in the clients who recovered and the countless well-researched texts lining her shelves, and yet…yet…there was a whole medical system, a whole society saying something utterly different.
It was confusing.
How was it possible so many experts were wrong?
In 2015 I started a Public Health Master’s program at Johns Hopkins. Here, once and for all, I would learn what the science said about our health.
As my studies progressed, much to my chagrin, I grew increasingly skeptical of our research and medical institutions. I saw first-hand how money and corporate agendas drive research, how numbers are anything but black and white, and how many purportedly ‘woo woo’ ideas are grounded in the actual science of our physiology.
My mom’s death changed everything.
I never got to dive into conversations about generational healing with my mom. I never got to tell her that YES, I finally believed her.
As I crossed the stage to accept my diploma, my mom struggled with a reoccurrence of ovarian cancer. A cancer she connected to sexual and emotional trauma, and acute loss. I said goodbye to my mom that Fall, in a mess of shock and deep, deep grief.
After my mom’s sudden death, I was left to make sense of a triangle of cancer, trauma, and heartbreak that seemed to be ingrained in my matrilineal line.
Diving into these topics, was not my idea of a good time, and yet, my mother was gone, and I had the distinct feeling if I did not move toward the triangle and try to make sense of it, I too would be snared in its web.
There’s a lot more to this story, but for now suffice it to say, I’m working on it.
Picking up the pieces.
One lesson I’ve learned is this: What happened to our ancestors is not fated to repeat itself, but we must engage with the past instead of running from it.
Because of my particular lineage, my journey has included deep dives into the topics of lineage, herbalism, and reproductive health.
Why Subscribe
Please join me if you:
Want to learn more about natural approaches to cycles and reproductive health.
Believe we should know all the options when it comes to our cycles, fertility, and reproductive health.
Are fascinated by lineage, epigenetics, and generational gifts and shadows
Like learning about how herbs can support the daily ups and downs of life.
Dive in🌊
If you’d like to get a taste of what’s here. Here are some good places to start:
You can support this new endeavor by subscribing and sharing. Please also consider leaving a comment if this post brings up anything for you. I’d truly love to hear.
