This is Two Truths — a newsletter honoring and exploring the duality of motherhood by journalists Cassie Shortsleeve and Kelsey Lucas.
What happens when two strangers (who are both parenting journalists) unknowingly have babies around the same time (and then have more babies around the same time), connect online, and find themselves both in the thick of early motherhood together and deeply entrenched in daily conversations about the million different ways they feel about everything? They start a newsletter. This is ours.
Two Truths explores the fascinating, nuanced, wildly misunderstood, yet universal concept of duality in motherhood.
First, a little lesson: Rooted in leading therapeutical mental health treatments and well-understood by scholars who study motherhood is one simple and healing idea: two things can be true.
We can feel fulfillment and sheer exhaustion simultaneously.
We can mourn the loss of our former selves while loving who we are becoming.
Overwhelming gratitude and guilt can live together.
We can feel so happy it hurts.
We can shed tears of sadness and joy in the very same drop.
We can feel lonely without any alone time.
We can ache to stop time while wishing a hard stage would pass.
We can doubt our abilities while knowing we are the perfect mothers to our babies.
In motherhood, things are rarely either/or. They’re often both/and.
Yet, too often, moms are spoon-fed just one storyline of motherhood: a romanticized version of pure, unadulterated, untarnished joy; or a tale of the overworked, miserable mother on an impossible mission to fulfill her child’s every need. Moms are told how to feel and shown what motherhood “should” look like.
We’re here to remind you that the motherhood journey is many things — messy, beautiful, challenging, intuitive, infuriating, tragic, and joyful — often all at once.
We’re also here to remind you that your motherhood journey is — above all else — yours.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
Our newsletter is a true labor of love — a compilation of what we’ve learned along the way and what we want you to know so that you can be better informed, educated, and connected on your journey.
It’s also an exploration of motherhood journeys that are different from our own — because everyone has their own truth, and every truth matters.
Here’s what you can expect in your inbox…
News that matters to you, from thought-provoking essays and round-ups of articles we love to unique takes on trends — so you can log out of Instagram without the FOMO and still feel in the loop.
Exclusive interviews with renowned motherhood experts, including leaders in the fields of matrescence, activism, perinatal medicine and mental health (which wasn’t even a thing in the U.S. until the 1980s), and more (think: the people who are changing parenthood in the U.S. as we know it)
Expertly-researched deep dives exploring the less-talked-about sides of motherhood
Poetry, prose, and prompts to inform and inspire your journey, put words to the complicated feelings you may be struggling to understand, and help you preserve memories
Connection and community with other mothers from pre-conception through postpartum and far beyond
The fun stuff: gift guides, round-ups, product recommendations, and the best motherhood memes (because we’re serious but not stuffy — we’ll inform you, empower you, and entertain you a bit)
WHY YOU CAN TRUST US:
Two Truths is a collaboration between two journalists, motherhood experts, and mom friends. Cassie Shortsleeve is the founder of Dear Sunday Motherhood; Kelsey Lucas is the founder of Motherspeak.
And we are also…
Two esteemed journalists with over two decades of experience contributing to the country’s leading health and parenting publications, including Parents, What to Expect, Motherly, Babylist, Scary Mommy, Women’s Health, The Washington Post, Well + Good, Real Simple, and many more
One perinatal health coach with training in maternal mental health from Postpartum Support International (Cassie!) and one author who focuses on mindfulness and memory-keeping (Kelsey!)
Community builders and content creators with a combined reach of over 2 million mothers monthly
Thought leaders, maternal rights advocates, and (along with a group of leading motherhood experts) co-founders of Chamber of Mothers, a non-profit organization working to advance mothers’ rights in the U.S.
Mothers to five children between us
READY TO SUBSCRIBE?
No more wondering, “Am I the only one who feels this way?”
No more doom-scrolling the internet looking for answers, inspiration, or connection.
No more doubting yourself.
Sign up now to receive weeklyish emails in your inbox.
And now: Tell us about you — who you are, where you’re at in your motherhood journey, and why you’re here — in the comments. We’re honored that you’ve joined us.
