Latest / Mommywood / Staying in the Game: Shannon Kane on Motherhood, Longevity, and Not Losing Yourself
Transcript
- 0:00Mom. Welcome to Mommy Wood, the
- 0:04podcast where motherhood meets Hollywood.
- 0:07Real moms, real talk, no scripts.
- 0:10I'm your host Emily Bolt, and we are talking about the messy,
- 0:14funny and unfiltered side of being a mom in the entertainment
- 0:18industry. Oh boy.
- 0:20Today's episode is one of those conversations that really stays
- 0:24with you. I'm talking with Shannon Kane
- 0:27and after whose career you absolutely know.
- 0:29But what struck me most was the way she talked about this life.
- 0:35Shannon shared insights and said things so clearly and so
- 0:40honestly that I literally teared up a couple times because it
- 0:44felt like she was putting words to thoughts that so many of us
- 0:50carry quietly. We talk about longevity,
- 0:54motherhood, boundaries, and what it really means to keep going in
- 0:59this industry without losing yourself or your joy.
- 1:03This is one of those episodes where you'll just want to pause,
- 1:07rewind, and maybe even write down a quote or two.
- 1:12I know I did for sure. I am so grateful for this
- 1:16conversation and I know so many of you are going to feel deeply
- 1:22seen by it. So please enjoy.
- 1:25I know you will my amazing conversation with the incredibly
- 1:31talented, incredibly kind Shannon Kane.
- 1:36All right, Shannon Kane, I'm so excited to have you on Mommy
- 1:41Wood. I'm excited to be here.
- 1:43Thank you for having me, Emily. Of course.
- 1:46It's I'm so excited, I have so many questions for you, but for
- 1:50anybody who doesn't know you yet, what chapter of your career
- 1:57would you say you're in right now?
- 1:59And like, how does it feel different from earlier chapters?
- 2:05Of your wow, I'm starting. It off right?
- 2:08Going deep, Let's just jump in. That is an amazing question.
- 2:12I've never been asked that before.
- 2:15And you know, what that brings up for me is I just recently
- 2:18moved and I have a little office where I put up all of my
- 2:22accomplishments. And if you would have asked me
- 2:26before I moved in and put everything up, I would have felt
- 2:29like I'm still in the beginning stages.
- 2:31That's what it feels like as an actor.
- 2:33Sometimes it's like, you know, have I, what have I done?
- 2:36Right? Because you're on the constant
- 2:38hunt to get that, that next job or the next opportunity.
- 2:41You're rebranding and doing all these things where it feels
- 2:44like, man, I just started. But when I put everything up and
- 2:47stood back and looked, I thought, oh, what?
- 2:50Well, I, I guess I've done a couple things.
- 2:53I guess we're here, we're still here, we're still breathing.
- 2:58And so for me, I would say, I would say, I think that we're
- 3:04like midway. We're midway, We're midway.
- 3:07You know, I've had my beginning and where I was nice and green
- 3:10and now I'm to the point where it's like, yes, this is what I
- 3:12know, this is what I do. This is what I love.
- 3:15And a lot of the insecurities that I once had have now turned
- 3:19into, you know, it's not a matter of if for me anymore,
- 3:23it's just a matter of when that next that next opportunity
- 3:26comes. So.
- 3:28Yeah, that's nice. Do you feel like there's,
- 3:34there's much, there's a lot of relief in being able to settle
- 3:40into that because like you said, it's always what's next, what's
- 3:43next And kind of knowing that it's going to, does that like
- 3:51chill your like actor anxiety a little bit?
- 3:55Hell no, it doesn't. It doesn't.
- 3:58I haven't. That's one thing I've had from
- 4:00the beginning. I still haven't.
- 4:01And I doubt it will go anywhere. Something about what we do.
- 4:05It's so it's so it it it's so unpredictable.
- 4:13Yeah. And so there are things that I
- 4:15can do as a creator to keep myself busy in between times.
- 4:18But when it comes to that next gig, whatever that that is, I've
- 4:22heard a lot of people say that and I do feel that way as well.
- 4:25Like even though it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of
- 4:27when, sometimes when could be a year, it could be, you know, it
- 4:30could be a while. And especially being a parent,
- 4:33it, it does cause some stress and anxiety.
- 4:36And so we have a responsibility to keep ourselves busy, to
- 4:40maintain creating and to to just be able to have this unshakable
- 4:48faith in ourselves and just put everything for me, just put
- 4:52everything, all of what I have into the basket of creation.
- 4:58Yeah. Oh, I love that.
- 4:59Yeah. Having this unshakable faith in
- 5:02ourselves. I love that.
- 5:03Because you do have to be a bit, I mean, so faithful in yourself.
- 5:09I'm like, believe in yourself because obviously, who else?
- 5:14Right. But Speaking of as being a mom,
- 5:18can you share your son's name and age for us?
- 5:22My son's name is Diane and he's 9.
- 5:25He just turned 9A. Powerful name.
- 5:29Yeah, yeah, yeah. He he was so nine years ago he
- 5:36came a month early, so I wasn't ready.
- 5:40It was a huge surprise. I had no idea.
- 5:43I always say that I had to fears in life pre child and that was
- 5:49death, the uncertainty of death. And the other thing was having a
- 5:52child because to me, I don't know, some women are born with
- 5:56that maternal instinct and they want kids their whole life.
- 5:59I wasn't one of them. And when my child started moving
- 6:01in my stomach, I cried. And my partner at the time was
- 6:04like, oh, you know, this is a beautiful moment.
- 6:06I was like, no, this is like crazy.
- 6:08Something is moving in there. It just, it scared me to the
- 6:11core. So he came early.
- 6:15It was a a huge surprise. And you know, he had some
- 6:20difficulties at birth, which was really difficult.
- 6:24Doctors didn't know if you would make it through.
- 6:26And he did that. He did.
- 6:28The doctor said to me that he is a miracle.
- 6:30You dodged a bullet. And science can't explain this.
- 6:34And so from that moment on, you know, Zion, his name goes back
- 6:42to the promised land, which also goes back to Africa.
- 6:45That's where we got his name from because we knew that his
- 6:49life would be promised. So Zion became the name for him.
- 6:53Where it's too early for me to start tearing up, I usually at
- 6:56least wait a few. That's so, that's so special.
- 7:02That's God. I cannot imagine that'd be so
- 7:06terrifying. Like it's scary already bringing
- 7:10somebody into this world, but having like those situations
- 7:15are, are life changing. Really.
- 7:20Yeah, absolutely. And like there was another thing
- 7:23that unpredictable is kind of a theme for my life, I guess.
- 7:27Because when he was born, I went in for a checkup.
- 7:29He wasn't really moving much. So I went in for a checkup.
- 7:31I had a midwife. I was expecting the home birth
- 7:34with the pulling, just like, you know, Lion King status, just
- 7:37holding him up to the world and birth in my beautiful baby in
- 7:40the tub. None of that happened.
- 7:42I went to the hospital nearby and they gave me a little stress
- 7:50test and they said we need to, we need to get him out now.
- 7:53I said what they were like, we need to do this right now.
- 7:55And so they wheeled me into the OR.
- 7:58And the last thing I'll add is they they did a process on him
- 8:01called cooling, which helped save, save his life.
- 8:04And that hospital that I went to just happened to be the only one
- 8:08in the entire county that was able to do that specific thing
- 8:12that saved his life, that procedure.
- 8:15So, yeah, it was such a, it was such a, it felt like it like it
- 8:23felt like destiny. There were so many moments of
- 8:25synchronicity where I was like, wow, OK, Lil Z, he was meant to
- 8:28be here. And he was like, mom, I'm here
- 8:30now, I'm coming my way, but I'm going to be there.
- 8:32So. Oh.
- 8:34Wow, Yeah, that's that's a lot. That's a lot to take to hand on.
- 8:41I'm sure that I don't know if if you were able, I mean, that's a
- 8:47lot to process in the moment. And obviously there's a lot
- 8:52going on for you in that moment too.
- 8:54So to think of like for me, I, my, my husband at the time,
- 9:01because we had not nearly the same situation, but but we had a
- 9:07scary situation and he processed it right there in the hospital.
- 9:13Like those days that we stayed and I had to like, I didn't, you
- 9:18know, you can't think of those things where you're like, well,
- 9:21now it's I'm a mom and I'm doing all of this.
- 9:25And then it takes a while. Was it a?
- 9:29I'm sure it still probably comes up for you, but was that like,
- 9:32were you able to process that or what was that like?
- 9:39It took it took years for me. It took years for me.
- 9:43Excuse me. And like you said, it does still
- 9:45come up, but it definitely it took it took a long time for me
- 9:52to be able to. It was like I had to handle it
- 9:54in phases because as women we are changed physically,
- 9:59mentally, spiritually, you name it, emotionally, all of these
- 10:04changes are happening to us. And then also accepting how this
- 10:08happened and also mourning all the things that that I thought
- 10:12that I was going to be able to do right.
- 10:14And so that was all a very long process for me.
- 10:17I would say it took, it took a few years for me to really just
- 10:23be able to. I think the biggest part of
- 10:25processing was just accepting and surrendering to the way that
- 10:28it was that that was going to be my story the way that it was
- 10:31going to be for me. Because everyone's process is
- 10:34different. It doesn't make us any better or
- 10:36worse than the than the, the mother next to us.
- 10:39We all have this gigantic sacrifice that we make in terms
- 10:43of our ourselves. And we are we are changed
- 10:47forever by it. And the most beautiful thing is,
- 10:51you know, he's he is the love of my life.
- 10:54It's the most amazing blessing. And it's so crazy that something
- 10:57so beautiful can come from such a a scary and intimidating
- 11:04process. Yeah, it is.
- 11:07It's it's a lot. You mentioned your partner at
- 11:11the time. Are you, do you have a partner
- 11:15now, the same partner or? I'm single mom in it.
- 11:20I have since he was 18 months. It's just been me and him.
- 11:23Yeah, yeah. I imagine that that it's.
- 11:29A whole other layer, girl, it is a whole other layer.
- 11:33But you know what? This is what I, this is such an,
- 11:36a cool opportunity to be able to say this to you and to any other
- 11:40single Mamas out there, just mama's period.
- 11:43But especially single Mamas. One thing is, you know, there
- 11:47are so many different ways there are single mothers when the when
- 11:50the father is there, when the father is not there, when he's
- 11:53participating, when he's not participating, whatever that is
- 11:55for me being alone in the process.
- 11:59I remember recently, actually, I was on set and I spoke to a
- 12:02girlfriend or a Co worker who turned out to be a girlfriend of
- 12:05mine. And she had said something about
- 12:08how difficult it is for, for, for us to have to do this on her
- 12:12own. And she did also comment on the
- 12:15lack that she was experiencing from the other parent.
- 12:18And, and I said to her, in that moment, I said there was this,
- 12:22there was a moment that came from me where I don't know if it
- 12:25was just the way that I think, right?
- 12:27I'm, I, I have to find the silver lining, right?
- 12:30I have to make it work for me. And I realized like, wow, I get
- 12:35to raise him myself. Like, yeah, it comes with a lot
- 12:40of of challenges and it comes with a lot of friction at times
- 12:45and hardship. But at the end of the day, I get
- 12:48to, I get to raise him myself. And in that him and I have this
- 12:52significant amazing bond where we just know we just get it.
- 12:57We have a rhythm and it's just absolutely beautiful.
- 13:00So there's always a way to find the blessing and whatever we are
- 13:04given. And for me, I have actually come
- 13:07to really love it when at the beginning it was a gigantic
- 13:10fear, just like the birth itself.
- 13:11This was another lesson where it it, it turned into a space of,
- 13:17of a really loving and embracing that part of motherhood and it's
- 13:20just a really wonderful journey. Yeah, silver lining of being
- 13:27able to like you don't have to answer or ask.
- 13:34And there's also like even when it comes to disciplining or when
- 13:36it comes to rules or this or that, it's never a conversation.
- 13:40It's like it to choose. And so yes, it's challenging,
- 13:43but there are also things about it that I've learned to love.
- 13:48And it's really gotten, like I said, it's brought me and my son
- 13:52closer. You know, we've gone through the
- 13:54woods together and we've had to go through some things to get to
- 13:56where we are. And now it's such a beautiful
- 13:58space where we have this innate respect and communication.
- 14:02Everyone said he's such a light, he's so Disney.
- 14:04So that because I get to pour everything into my child and
- 14:09you're. Like, yes, thank you.
- 14:12I know, no. It is just wonderful though to
- 14:15be able. I know time is currency with
- 14:16children and he gets all my time, so I get to have that.
- 14:20I do get to have that, which is wonderful.
- 14:22Is now. Feel free to answer or not.
- 14:26Is is his dad still in the picture?
- 14:29Is there Co parenting or is? There's no Co parenting, but
- 14:32there are like they have, they're still in touch.
- 14:36Let's put it that way, like every weekend.
- 14:38He he lives out of state. So every weekend they'll be able
- 14:41to talk and you know, they're still in touch.
- 14:44But as far as cope, as far as the parenting, that's that's
- 14:48something. Bless you.
- 14:52Yeah. Wow, Yeah.
- 14:55Thank you. Well, going back to the acting
- 15:00side of it a little bit more, when people hear like working
- 15:04actor, they which obviously I would call you a working actor,
- 15:08they picture one thing. But how would you say that
- 15:12you're? How does your day-to-day look
- 15:16right now? Wait, right now, I think it's
- 15:21because it's between Christmas and New Year's, I've just been
- 15:23able to be in mommy mode, right? So right now it's like we're
- 15:27going to the grocery store, kids let's, you know, let's make,
- 15:29let's get ready. We have family coming into town.
- 15:31We're just finding ways to stay busy and a lot of like creative
- 15:34projects. And I just get to really focus
- 15:36on mom until that new year comes.
- 15:38Once New Year comes, I'm constantly auditioning.
- 15:42I'm writing and not only am I auditioning for television and
- 15:47film, but also voiceover, which is also another passion of mine.
- 15:52So if I'm not on set, I am actively, I'm actively working
- 15:58to get the next job, right. And so, and that's a lot of
- 16:02time. Just because you see me on TV
- 16:04for a certain amount of time doesn't mean that I'm working
- 16:06every day all year. There are sometimes there's that
- 16:08downtime now before children when I had that downtime, I
- 16:12would just, I would maximize my time.
- 16:15I would be able to go here and do that and float here and float
- 16:18there and be able to be more available for jobs that pick up
- 16:20and go and leave. But I can't do that anymore.
- 16:23So now in in between my gigs, I'm home with Zion and doing my
- 16:28best to be able to be as present as as I can be in his childhood
- 16:33because I know these years are so formative.
- 16:35And he's 9. I'm halfway there.
- 16:37Pretty soon he's going to be like, mom, I'm going to go with
- 16:39my friends. Like, don't kiss me around my
- 16:41friends. Like, don't you don't want to be
- 16:43chopped liver. So now I'm so intentional about
- 16:48spending time getting out in nature, being creative.
- 16:52We he loves to draw, he loves music, he's a creative himself.
- 16:55And so we bounce off of each other.
- 16:57This kid go he he, he helps me with my lines when we have
- 17:00auditions. So.
- 17:03Like. Loves it.
- 17:07So it's just wonderful to be able to have that in common as
- 17:10well. Oh.
- 17:11That's so nice. Was there a time when early?
- 17:17Not even a moment, but a time. Obviously this career, like you
- 17:21said there, it looks like, you know, if you're on a show and
- 17:25you're working and people are like, oh, she's she's like she's
- 17:29got it. But like it's not linear.
- 17:32Like you're still, you still have breaks, you're still going
- 17:35for the next things. You're still, you know that.
- 17:38But what was it like? Was there a moment figuring out,
- 17:42realizing, like we all do at some point, that this career
- 17:47path is never linear like we might have thought it was?
- 17:51Going to be at some. Point and once you found that
- 17:54out, how did it change how you approached your career?
- 18:00And like you said, your your writing like did that inform?
- 18:10I would say so. I would definitely say so like,
- 18:12like, you know, especially with having a child, that consistency
- 18:16is everything and it's not, it's not going to come to us.
- 18:19Sometimes we pour in so much more than we'll ever get back in
- 18:22this career. And so that's a hard one.
- 18:25That's a hard pill to swallow. But I know this is one thing
- 18:30that from early on, something that I knew that I had to to do.
- 18:35Storytelling is my number one passion.
- 18:37And if I if I can't do that, then I feel like a caged bird.
- 18:42And so there were some changes. I would say that writing was one
- 18:46of the things that I was like, oh, OK, There has to be some
- 18:48other ways in between time for me to be able to #1 make money
- 18:54and #2 keep my creative ball rolling.
- 18:58Because if that's not happening for me, I start to get down in
- 19:02the dumps. It can become kind of depressing
- 19:07at time when you're not able to utilize the muscle that you
- 19:09train so often. And so what's interesting is one
- 19:14of my inspirations who's really amazing at creating community
- 19:17and staying busy and being the the ultimate creator is Tiffany
- 19:20Tiffany Ivan Cox. I was just going to say I was
- 19:24messaging her earlier and I was like, I need some how to tell
- 19:28you girl. Yes, she has it.
- 19:31She's also, you know, from my personality type is I'm more
- 19:35introspective and not as social. I'm really not.
- 19:39I used to have social anxiety. Even just being around a lot of
- 19:42people. Being an actress was different
- 19:46for me because I'm able to step into someone else's shoes and it
- 19:48kind of gives me that comfort for me to really to to be
- 19:52comfortable in my skin or whatever skin I get to put on
- 19:55that day. But Shannon, Shannon, like I
- 19:57don't often do podcasts. I don't often have that tool
- 20:01like Tiff has it. She was born with it.
- 20:03She was like you, this, you that.
- 20:04She was the first one. Just connect all this Ladera
- 20:06ladies. She just has this wonderful
- 20:08gift. And whenever I'm around her, I'm
- 20:10so inspired by that. And so I do sometimes sit and I
- 20:14have to recalibrate and think, what are the ways that I'm
- 20:16getting in my own way? How can I open up?
- 20:20And even a small way today that's going to take me further
- 20:23out of my shell. While still honoring who I am
- 20:26because I know I'm not just going to be somebody different.
- 20:29But what are those small ways that I can do that?
- 20:31Because I think that's really important.
- 20:34I I've made the mistake in the past to be such an artist artist
- 20:37that I forget about the business side of things.
- 20:40I forget about the social side of things like the other
- 20:42obligations for me that feel like obligations for some
- 20:45people, they're like wonderful opportunities.
- 20:46And for me, I'm like, I got to, I got to do that.
- 20:48We got to go on the carpet interview with the Yeah.
- 20:53I definitely relate to you more on that.
- 20:56But yeah, the whole and business like we have to wear so many
- 21:02hats. Absolutely, yeah.
- 21:05Easy. And especially now with self
- 21:07tapes, which like, don't get me wrong, I thank God for self
- 21:10tapes, but it is also like, OK, I mean now we it's like second
- 21:17nature now. But yeah, and I have to do
- 21:21lighting and do all this and I'm like, I just want to act.
- 21:26And it's like, well, that's not really.
- 21:29Yeah, yes. Anybody Eddie more Is there a a
- 21:35piece of advice that you got early on that now you're like,
- 21:41oh, that was actually kind of terrible advice?
- 21:47Terrible. Advice yeah, like you hear that,
- 21:50like you had heard and now you're like, oh actually maybe
- 21:55you didn't follow it and you're like, yeah, that was bad advice.
- 21:58Or because I always think of I'll share like when people are
- 22:06like, if you think that you could like doing anything else
- 22:10besides acting, do that and I'm like, well.
- 22:13I I do, I mean, I like acting best like I could.
- 22:18We're all actors. We're obviously all interested
- 22:21in so many things. We're curious, creative people.
- 22:26So I always think that's, I understand where that comes
- 22:30from. But at the same time, I'm like,
- 22:32maybe we shouldn't tell young people that we should word it
- 22:37differently or something. But like, yeah, just advice.
- 22:40So you're like, people don't need to hear that.
- 22:43Or maybe it wasn't the best advice.
- 22:48Or, you know, I would say, I would say I honestly, I go back
- 22:58to like the first thing that came to me when you asked, when
- 23:01you, when you asked this question was our, our, our
- 23:06physical appearance. I think a lot of people are so
- 23:09hell bent on what you need to look like and, and how you need
- 23:13to show up and the. And yeah, I mean, I get that to
- 23:16an extent. You know, like you said, we're
- 23:18kind of like the CEO's of our own company and we do have a
- 23:21brand upkeep, but ultimately I don't know.
- 23:25And I, and I, this is just for me.
- 23:27I, I think that there is, especially as women, there's a
- 23:30lot of pressure in terms of like being a certain weight, being a
- 23:34certain this looking a certain way, wearing certain clothes.
- 23:37And it's just like, fuck that. Excuse my language, but I'm
- 23:42going to show up as me until I need to transition into to be
- 23:46this next person for whatever project or story I get to tell,
- 23:49I'm going to show up as me. And if that's a problem, it's
- 23:52just not for me. So I would really like women to
- 23:55feel more comfortable in their skin and be able to show up
- 23:59authentically as themselves without so much insecurity about
- 24:02how will be received. Because ultimately it's not
- 24:06whether we're good enough or this or, you know, this or that.
- 24:09It's it's about whether we're honest enough with whatever
- 24:13story we get to tell. It's not about good or bad for
- 24:16me, right? And art, just like any art on a
- 24:18wall somewhere in a gallery or in a museum, it's subjective.
- 24:22Some people will love you and some people will hate you.
- 24:24It's not up to you to absorb that.
- 24:26So I think showing up authentically is so, so
- 24:30important. I think it's paramount when it
- 24:32comes to this. And when we're able to really
- 24:34embrace ourselves, we can shed the expectations of so, so much
- 24:39BS that comes our way in terms of how they think that we need
- 24:42to be. Yeah.
- 24:44And I feel like, did you feel like that?
- 24:48Obviously that kind of comes with age as well as like, you
- 24:53know, knowing yourself better and being able to be like,
- 24:56finally, just like this is who I am.
- 24:58And hopefully we get more and more towards that as we age and
- 25:02hopefully happens for younger people earlier.
- 25:06But but also being a mom, I feel like for me it did that.
- 25:14Did that help shift that as well?
- 25:17Because obviously, like you said earlier, our bodies definitely
- 25:21change our everything changes. Did that.
- 25:26Did that also. Shift that perspective, I think
- 25:33definitely. But that was also a process,
- 25:36right? Because it took a while to love
- 25:37myself again physically after having a baby.
- 25:41And, and I also didn't have, you know, I didn't have, it was just
- 25:47me. It was just me, you know, I for
- 25:4918 months, I had my partner, but there wasn't a lot of sometimes
- 25:53you need that validation or sometimes you be like, hey,
- 25:55baby, you look great today. I didn't have that.
- 25:57It was just like, here I am, you know, and who am I?
- 26:02And so I, I think it took a while for me.
- 26:04It was almost like a rebirth into myself.
- 26:07But I do see that the unconditional love that I get
- 26:10from my child and the way that he looks at me, no matter what I
- 26:13look like, I find that to be most important.
- 26:17And so the love that he has for me serves as a reflection, as a
- 26:22mirror. And I get to also reflect that
- 26:24back to myself, which I think is absolutely beautiful.
- 26:26So I do think that that helped. That helped in terms of my self
- 26:32esteem, myself, confidence for sure.
- 26:35And being able to just say, you know what, there's so much
- 26:38mental warfare up into a point where you just say stop, like
- 26:41I'm done, I'm done. It's tiring me out.
- 26:44I'm just going to love me for me and whoever doesn't, fine, I
- 26:48don't need, I don't need that. I don't need that validation
- 26:51anymore. Yeah, so.
- 26:53Yeah, Emma, Emma Thompson, I think she was in an interview
- 26:59and she was like, it's just exhausting.
- 27:01It's just like, it's so boring. It's exhausting to like for
- 27:05women to be like so caught up in our appearance, like this is
- 27:09just, it's just what we get. And but I mean of course, easier
- 27:14said than done sometimes. There's.
- 27:17Still vanity in being a woman and being an actor.
- 27:21Like, it's easier said than done for sure, but when we think of
- 27:26like our parents or, you know, mentors or whoever we look up to
- 27:31when we talk about them, we're not like, they got a banging
- 27:35body. Exactly, exactly.
- 27:39And that also comes with age 2. We with with age, hopefully with
- 27:43maturity comes depth, right, exactly.
- 27:47With maturity comes that depth. And it's a double whammy because
- 27:52society serves us that just as women and then we get to be in
- 27:56front of people and we get to be in the public eye on top of
- 27:59that. So it is a double whammy.
- 28:01There's so much power and letting go of that because it is
- 28:05a decision. It's a decision to relieve
- 28:07ourselves from that exhaustion. And whatever comes of it, I find
- 28:14when you're embraced, when you get to be your authentic self
- 28:16and you're embraced because of that, then that's where you can
- 28:20you can reach more. And I know as an actress, my one
- 28:25of my goals and in storytelling is to be able to reach, to be
- 28:29able to reach and be able to build that bridge of empathy for
- 28:33people, to be moved, for people to relate and to identify.
- 28:37And not everyone is perfect. Nobody is, as a matter of fact.
- 28:41So it's wonderful for us to be able to accept our our
- 28:44imperfections. Talking about how you know
- 28:47you've you were born a storyteller, like this is what
- 28:51you've always wanted to do. And you're from Michigan?
- 28:54Yes. Yes, yes.
- 28:56Did you get that support from from like your your parents or
- 29:04your upbringing? Was it nourished or was it
- 29:08something you had to kind of break off to do?
- 29:13Because, you know, not everyone has support going into this.
- 29:21Right. Yeah.
- 29:22I don't know if I would quite call it like support.
- 29:27Like, you know, I had a single mother upbringing as well and I
- 29:32didn't meet my father until my 20s.
- 29:34And growing up, my mother was a huge movie buff.
- 29:40Like I remember she would get Premiere magazine and I remember
- 29:42filling out the Academy Award poster, like who was going to
- 29:45win what? And I didn't even watch half
- 29:46these movies, but I just wanted to be included.
- 29:48I remember staying up late and watching The Princess Bride,
- 29:50which is the first movie that like the first like adult level
- 29:54movie that I got to watch and I got to stay up all night and do
- 29:57it. And it was just such a highlight
- 29:59of the connection between me and my mother.
- 30:02Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
- 30:03It's a good one. So I think that it, it helped
- 30:09connect me and my mom entertainment in a lot of ways.
- 30:12But then once I actually tasted it and I began acting, I
- 30:17realized for me, it was like a form of therapy.
- 30:20It was a form to be heard when I didn't really feel heard
- 30:23throughout my entire life. I was also different.
- 30:25I'm biracial, but the family that I was raised by was my
- 30:29white side of the family, and I didn't meet my other side and so
- 30:32much later in life. So I often felt ostracized and
- 30:35different, not just because of the color of my skin, that's
- 30:38one, but also because of the things that I was attracted to
- 30:41and the things that I like were so different than what what I
- 30:45was being raised with and around.
- 30:47So it was a way for me to, yeah, like I said, be heard.
- 30:52But there was a relief. There was a therapy and being
- 30:55able to step in someone else's shoes, almost like I was giving
- 30:58that to myself, that understanding and and that
- 31:01permission for it to be OK. So yeah, I'd say I'd say that.
- 31:06But yeah, early on, I just loved movies and me and my back, you
- 31:10know, back then, it was like my mom was my bestie.
- 31:12She was young when she had me, too.
- 31:14So it was like that was a way for us to connect.
- 31:18That's that's really beautiful. Now, is there anything like I
- 31:22was talking about how, you know, obviously we, you know, being a
- 31:28working actor and as is there something about being like a
- 31:35series regular or recurring guest star that like people
- 31:38misunderstand, Like I was saying, how you from an outside
- 31:44perspective, it's like, oh, she can you know, the next job is
- 31:49coming, like you can rest or your anxiety is lesson.
- 31:52It is like Nope. Is there.
- 31:56So I guess we've already touched on it a little bit, but is
- 31:58there, but is there something else that like people
- 32:05misunderstand about like once you're at a a certain level, at
- 32:11least from the outside that we miss that other actors that are
- 32:16not there? Yeah, yeah.
- 32:18Understand. Absolutely.
- 32:20Most people think you're rich. I'm not rich.
- 32:22I'm not there Yeah, girl, listen, I'm do everything I can
- 32:26to shuffling wear 10,000 hats. This is not Hollywood back in
- 32:30the, you know, back in the 60s or the this is this is this is
- 32:34new. This is different, right?
- 32:36And we all know what it's like to be to be an actor in these in
- 32:42this day and age. It's not what it used to be.
- 32:45The opportunities are are few and far between and the
- 32:47competition is even bigger. I don't know if you've noticed,
- 32:50and I know I know myself, I have in my fellow actors that a lot
- 32:54of times if you're up against a name, the name is going to get
- 32:56that role because right now it's about making money and it's
- 33:00about making sure that it's marketable and ABC.
- 33:03So a lot of times I feel like, yeah, I get in the door for
- 33:07great opportunities, but I'm not always the one to be considered
- 33:10because I'm up against so much and that can become frustrating.
- 33:14I think there is, there is this sort of mentality where people
- 33:19think like, oh, you made it. Like when I go back home and
- 33:21people are like, oh, you're in the movies and you must you got
- 33:24it made. It's like, yeah, no, it's just
- 33:26like any other job. I'm still working my way up.
- 33:28Like I said in the beginning, I'm just in the middle.
- 33:31Yeah, right. So I think it's there are a lot
- 33:35of misconceptions as it pertains to that.
- 33:37A lot of misconceptions. And now it seems like it's
- 33:42really difficult to honestly make a living as a working actor
- 33:45unless you are #1 and that is your job or that is your
- 33:49project. Well, cuz you can not as easy.
- 33:52Yeah, you can. You can see how many people now
- 33:55we've we have been seeing the trickle down effect for so long,
- 33:59but it's now it's even like so many like famous famous like
- 34:04people stars doing commercials. Yes.
- 34:08And and then once there's a show, they're usually also the
- 34:13producer. Or exactly.
- 34:15Yeah, yeah. And as you start to work more,
- 34:19you have more of a team to pay. You got your agent, You got your
- 34:22manager. You think that you're getting
- 34:23paid this big check, and then you get it in the mail.
- 34:24You're like, all right, you know, what's the next episode?
- 34:30I'm always like take it out ahead of time.
- 34:32I don't want. To see, I don't take it out now,
- 34:36don't show me because that's just going to make me feel bad
- 34:40about myself. So, you know, and, and that's
- 34:42very stressful, especially as a single mother because I am not
- 34:45able to take all the jobs and go all the places right now,
- 34:49especially with the age of my child.
- 34:50I can't get up and go move somewhere for and just take my
- 34:53kid out of school and up, you know, uproot his entire life.
- 34:58So now, you know, the Pickens are slimmer.
- 35:00And I think that is a big misconception.
- 35:04Yeah, 'cause I'm sure you're, you're, Yeah.
- 35:10What you choose to work on has has changed so much even since
- 35:16he was born, I'm sure. Well, I used to have the luxury
- 35:21of just like jumping on like little things here.
- 35:23If it doesn't pay much, it doesn't matter.
- 35:24I'll just jump and do that now. I have to be very selective
- 35:28about the jobs that I take because it's going to have to be
- 35:31worth it for me. Like shooting, even shooting
- 35:34reasonable. Doubt.
- 35:34We're shooting in Atlanta. I don't know.
- 35:35In Season 2, when I worked all that time, I was away from my
- 35:38child for 4 1/2 months. I had applied my mom in.
- 35:41I was just going to ask, how did that work?
- 35:43So your mom stayed with your son and then that's a long time to.
- 35:49That's a long time when you go back and your child has grown.
- 35:53It's heartbreaking. I was like, Oh my, it was
- 35:55heartbreaking. It was heartbreaking.
- 35:58And so I know that there are these sacrifices, but you know,
- 36:03there, I remember there was sometimes where I got really
- 36:05down about that specifically, but I was also working with some
- 36:08really intense subject matter in that season.
- 36:11But there was this intimacy coach that came on.
- 36:16Was she the intimacy? No, she was the mental health.
- 36:18They had brought in a mental health professional for, for
- 36:21myself and for the people who were witnessing my scenes
- 36:24because it was so sensitive. And she was in the car and she
- 36:30was like, hey, you know. And I had told her that it was
- 36:32difficult for me to be away from my son for so long, right?
- 36:35And I said, you know, it gets harder day by day.
- 36:38And at this time, he actually got really sick.
- 36:40My mom called me and told me he got pneumonia.
- 36:43And I was kind of freaked out, right?
- 36:45I was freaked out. And I had to go to work because
- 36:47the show doesn't stop for anybody.
- 36:49So I go to work that day and I get through and I get back in
- 36:52the van to get shuttled back to base camp.
- 36:54And she says to me, you know, it's really important that your
- 36:59kid sees you living your dreams. And I said, wow.
- 37:05And I never thought about it that way.
- 37:07I never thought about how important it is for him to see
- 37:11me truly go for what I what I'm passionate about and feed my
- 37:18passions and do the things that make me happy so I can be even a
- 37:21better mother and be happier for him and set an example.
- 37:24He he's so proud to see the work that I've done.
- 37:28Not that he's watching, you know, the shows, but he knows
- 37:31mom's on TV and he's so proud of that.
- 37:33He even started taking acting classes in his school and he's
- 37:36like, I want to be like mom, you know, that's a blessing and a
- 37:39curse. But we'll get, that's another
- 37:40conversation. But it is beautiful to see him
- 37:45embrace that and to know like, oh, that it feels like a
- 37:49sacrifice, you know, through this lens.
- 37:51But if I maybe shift into this other lens, then maybe that's
- 37:54another way that I can see the silver lining and allow that to
- 37:57really feed me. Yeah.
- 37:59Oh, man, yeah. That's, that's so hard to to be
- 38:05gone. And and then I'm sure there are
- 38:08the moments when you're working and obviously like you're happy
- 38:12and excited and grateful to be working.
- 38:17And then I'm sure there's a little bit of that like, oh God,
- 38:21now I feel bad that I'm happy. And I'm so like all the
- 38:25different, like so many things can be true at the same time,
- 38:30where you can be having fun and living your dream and also be
- 38:35devastated because you're missing fun like that.
- 38:37And that that duality is like life.
- 38:40That is life in so many ways. Our characters, the, the more
- 38:44you, the more you explore acting, I, I see it as the art
- 38:50of listening. And the more we explore that art
- 38:53and we, the, we explore these characters, the more complex you
- 38:56see that we really are. And that is so present in so
- 39:00many spaces in our lives with all of the roles that we have
- 39:03just as women, as sisters, as you know, daughters, wives,
- 39:07mothers. That is so significant how
- 39:10complex we are. And I think there's so much
- 39:13power in giving ourselves permission to feel both.
- 39:16Yeah, yes. Yeah, yeah.
- 39:24When you first became a mom, first had had your son or even
- 39:29before honestly, when you were pregnant, was there did you ever
- 39:33deal with that like the fear around like disappearing once
- 39:40you became a mom or and like how did you work through that?
- 39:44Because that was one of my things which I feel like a lot
- 39:48of actresses, not so much actors because they don't have to be
- 39:54pregnant, but just the idea of putting it off till I get to a
- 40:02certain place in my career, which might never happen.
- 40:07But like if wanting to be a parent like that, fear of.
- 40:12Oh, the business won't wait for me and I'll disappear once I
- 40:19become a mom. Like how did you work through
- 40:23that? Oh, when I became pregnant, it
- 40:28was a surprise for me. It wasn't planned.
- 40:30It happened and, you know, I felt like it was such a
- 40:35whirlwind when it came to his birth, when it came to the
- 40:38pregnancy, that I didn't even think about it until I was in
- 40:41it. And then once I was in it, I was
- 40:43like, you know, maybe I can just be behind the camera.
- 40:51Yeah. There was this feeling of like,
- 40:56and I don't know if it was mixed in with the, the, the the
- 40:58sacrifice of being a mom, like, Oh, I chose this, you know, and
- 41:02now my priorities are going to have to shift and all of that is
- 41:04going to have to go in the back burner.
- 41:05There was just like this feeling of like, well, I guess I just, I
- 41:09just have to adapt. It almost felt like like I said
- 41:13that rebirth. And so it took me some time to
- 41:17be able to say no. And I think that was when I was
- 41:19finding the strength, when I was finding myself in my confidence
- 41:21back where I said, no, I can do this, I can do this.
- 41:24And I've gotten this far. Sometimes as actors, we have to
- 41:29speak to the to the the unless I'll just speak for the women.
- 41:32We have to speak to the little girl who wanted to be where we
- 41:35are now. And so often I'll say, you know,
- 41:40like, what would baby Shannon say about this?
- 41:42Like little Shana was my nickname.
- 41:44Like, what would she think about?
- 41:46About what I've accomplished? And there's always this feeling
- 41:50of awe from her. And I, I often have to check in
- 41:54with her. And that gives me the fire to
- 41:59keep me going. That feeds my fire in terms of
- 42:02all of my, my, my artistry. And so I think that it's really
- 42:10important to be able to just check in with our little knees
- 42:14to make sure that we're going to keep going so we don't get lost.
- 42:17Because I am human and there are times when I'm like, I'm just,
- 42:19I'm done. Like this is not for me.
- 42:22It's too difficult, especially as a mom.
- 42:23I've had those moments, especially early on when my
- 42:26relationship wasn't working and my career wasn't going anywhere
- 42:29and I'm overweight and I'm depressed and I'm these things.
- 42:32And it's like no one thing that I do know from life is that when
- 42:37it's this too shall pass. When you're happy and you're
- 42:40joyful, it's not going to last. And you're down in the when
- 42:43you're down there and you know, in the trenches of things,
- 42:46that's not going to last either. The only thing consistent is the
- 42:50change. And I always say the waves that
- 42:52we have to ride. So make sure your surfboard is
- 42:54strong because we're going to keep doing this.
- 42:57So when I learned to really allow that, I thought, OK, let
- 43:00me not just give up on everything.
- 43:02Let me allow this page to turn so I can jump back on my board
- 43:06and and see what else there is for me.
- 43:09Oh, I love that analogy. The Yeah, we have to ride the
- 43:13waves. To.
- 43:14Make sure our our board, our foundation is strong.
- 43:19I'm going to cry again. You're kidding me.
- 43:28Well, obviously, you know, like you said that there are the
- 43:31times of like, maybe I shouldn't be doing this, you know, And I
- 43:38felt one of my fears before having my daughter was like, I'm
- 43:42not going to want to do anything else.
- 43:44Like I'm only going to want to be with her.
- 43:46So, so that surprised me how much I didn't change in that
- 43:51aspect like that. But did anything, did your
- 43:56ambition change at all? Or what surprised you most about
- 44:00your ambition in your drive after having your son?
- 44:04Well, once I switched back into gear because I, like I said, I
- 44:07probably had some postpartum depression.
- 44:08I mean, it wasn't like, you know, diagnosed, but I'm, I'm
- 44:12pretty sure that that happened for me.
- 44:14And so once I was able to turn that page and jump back on that
- 44:17board, I feel like, I feel like it was like nothing's going to
- 44:27stop me. If that didn't stop me, if this
- 44:30didn't stop me and that and all that stuff that I've been
- 44:33through, like if that didn't stop me or kill me, even then I
- 44:36can do anything. That's how it felt.
- 44:38And I just, I've had that sort of persistence since I was
- 44:42young. I against all odds in so many
- 44:45ways, I felt like I've had to rise past a lot of, of the cards
- 44:49that I had been dealt. And that was another, that was
- 44:53another space where I just, there was no other option for
- 44:57me. There is no other option.
- 44:58It was either this or there's nothing else.
- 45:03So that's where, you know, I'd say, yeah, that ambition stayed
- 45:06the same and it's still there. It's what keeps me going after
- 45:10all these years. And for me still, I mean, 20
- 45:14plus years in this industry and I'm not where I thought I would
- 45:18be, but I'm definitely in a space where it like when I, when
- 45:22I confide in and speak to little Shannon, she's like, keep going,
- 45:26like you got this, keep going. You've got you've gotten so far.
- 45:30Keep going, keep loving yourself, keep showing up
- 45:33authentically and keep being truthful in your creations.
- 45:37That's what's but I just keep it just keeps going.
- 45:40There's no other option. Is there?
- 45:44Is there something you would you wish that you could tell, you
- 45:49could tell your younger self or other younger actresses about,
- 45:56you know, like you were saying, you might not be where you
- 45:59thought you would be or wanted to be 20 years ago, but you're
- 46:04in an incredible place now. But is there something you would
- 46:07tell your younger self or younger actors about the
- 46:10longevity of it as opposed to the speed of it?
- 46:16Because we always hear, you know, it's a, it's a marathon,
- 46:18not a Sprint. But is there anything you would
- 46:22tell your younger self about that?
- 46:25Well, I wouldn't be able to speak to my younger self because
- 46:27I was hard headed. So she was going to have to go
- 46:29through her trials anyway. So like, girl, what?
- 46:33Bye. I'm gonna go do this.
- 46:34I'm gonna go burn my hand on the fire.
- 46:36But as it pertains to the younger actresses, I would say
- 46:41that if you're in it to do anything but storytelling, then
- 46:45you shouldn't be in it at all. Because the only thing that's
- 46:48going to keep us going is our love for the craft.
- 46:52It is about the craft. It is about the work.
- 46:54It is not about the brand of the followers, of the this of the
- 46:58that. That's all fluff.
- 47:00And to me, I know that it's a big people are saying, you know,
- 47:03we changed and it's a big part of of our careers.
- 47:08And I think it's bullshit. I think when you are, when you
- 47:13come and when you encounter these opportunities that are
- 47:16meant for you, have fun with it, learn from it.
- 47:20Because when you're open and you're present with those
- 47:22things, then it expands you and you're able to grow.
- 47:25And when your craft is growing, then there is no finish line.
- 47:29It's the journey that we're in it for.
- 47:32And so when we can honor ourselves throughout the
- 47:34journey, then we get to learn when we go from this mentality
- 47:37of I got to do this, I get to do this.
- 47:40And I think that's so important for younger actresses to know
- 47:43because we often compare ourselves with others.
- 47:46And that is just a death. That is death.
- 47:51Don't do it, don't do it. The only competition should be
- 47:56yourself. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- 48:00That's that is hard with the way things are now, but for sure
- 48:09this too shall pass where everything will ebb and flow.
- 48:12And yeah, if you want to just be a famous or or have your moment,
- 48:20then maybe just like content. Create yeah.
- 48:24Influencer or content. That's right, that's right.
- 48:28Because, you know, sometimes I and I used to be very fiery and,
- 48:32you know, as I'm insure I'm more settled I'm more settled, but I
- 48:38used to be very, very almost like offended by that.
- 48:41Like, you know, you see these reality stars and these huge
- 48:43films and I'm like what? What you haven't done, the work,
- 48:48you haven't put in the blood, sweat and tears to be able to
- 48:50even take an opportunity when the hundreds of people are who
- 48:53have worked their ass off, want and need this, But meanwhile you
- 48:57got this and you're just placed in it.
- 48:59And I used to take so much offense to that.
- 49:01Now it's like, hey, I honestly do believe what is for me is for
- 49:06me. I honestly believe that if it's
- 49:08not for me, then it wasn't mine when I walked into the room.
- 49:11And that allows me to really get a lot of the stress and anxiety
- 49:15off of me when it comes to auditioning, letting things go,
- 49:19which is the biggest for me. Letting things go is the one of
- 49:22the biggest challenges. That's when you walk off set and
- 49:24you've been on set, even as Chanel unreasonable doubt, you
- 49:28know, going on set and getting beat up all day and having to do
- 49:31these really intense, you know, scenes and and and be able to
- 49:36portray like abuse and domestic violence, like leaving set and
- 49:41saying let it go, doing that audition where you're just like,
- 49:44God, This is a really wonderful for me.
- 49:46I could see myself in this rule. Let it go when you whatever it
- 49:50is. That is one of the hardest
- 49:51things to really encompass as an actor.
- 49:54One of the biggest, one of the biggest rules I would say, or
- 49:59tools that we could use in order to be successful in our pursuit.
- 50:05Do you think, Speaking of like, reasonable doubt and like all
- 50:09the heart, like there's a lot of hard stuff that you have to do,
- 50:14do you feel like there is anything like about being a mom
- 50:21that specifically shaped how you approached your role?
- 50:26Absolutely. That's one thing.
- 50:29This is one thing. So when I turned that new leaf
- 50:32after I went through that postpartum depression and I got
- 50:35my first gig and I wasn't at the my weight, it was going back to
- 50:39like how I felt about myself externally and I just was
- 50:41insecure. But I remember doing the role
- 50:43and it went really well. And I remember it like, OK, I'm
- 50:45getting my feet wet again. I'm back doing what I love to
- 50:48do. And not only in my back, but I
- 50:50felt widened. I felt, I felt more depth.
- 50:56I felt more emotional depth, more access.
- 51:01I could access myself in places I couldn't before being a
- 51:04mother. And I realized, oh, this didn't
- 51:06deter me from my acting. This actually helped me embrace
- 51:11it even further. It helped me grow.
- 51:13It helped me flourish in a space where before I could only even
- 51:16comprehend these levels of emotion that I had to reach
- 51:20reasonable doubt was a mom. It was a mom.
- 51:22She was protecting her child, that little cub.
- 51:25And I don't like to create from a space of substituting my own
- 51:29reality, but there are times where it's going to intertwine
- 51:32because of our experiences. We are human.
- 51:34And there are so many times where that Mama bear came out of
- 51:37me and I was so informed and brought to places emotionally
- 51:40that I didn't even know I could go.
- 51:42And that was all because of being a mother.
- 51:45You're like, thank you. Thank you.
- 51:48Right. Thank you.
- 51:48So, you know, when we go through it, sometimes it feels like,
- 51:51yeah, you're just mucking. You're just, but there's there
- 51:53really is that change that happens.
- 51:56There's that shift, there's that next wave that you catch where
- 51:59you're like, wow, you're in the barrel and you're like, this is
- 52:02great, you know? So there is that, there is that
- 52:06it's a it's a beautiful, beautiful reminder.
- 52:10Yeah, Yeah. That's yeah, it's got to be hard
- 52:15with being a mom and having that and playing a mom and having
- 52:21that emotional depth and like you said that, but being able to
- 52:26put it like. Let it go.
- 52:30Because yeah, if you substitute like, that'll give you a whole.
- 52:36Yeah, exactly, exactly. Now, that's not to say just
- 52:39because, you know, eventually I was able to let these things go,
- 52:42some days it was harder than others.
- 52:43But that doesn't mean that when I came home to my child at
- 52:46school, I was like, you got squeezed him even harder.
- 52:50You know, not just from missing him, but just from, from all of
- 52:55the emotions that it brought me from being away from, you know,
- 52:59from Chanel's pain as a parent. And just when I, when I go into
- 53:05a character, I'm all of a sudden in the shoes of someone else.
- 53:07And then that puts me in a space of like being super grateful for
- 53:10the life that I do have. You know, when you're giving
- 53:13someone else's problems, you're like, oh wow.
- 53:15It gives you perspective on your own problems.
- 53:18Sure, Yeah, sure. Yeah, for sure.
- 53:21So yeah, being able to come home, I definitely squeezed him
- 53:23harder. Well, I'll move on to something
- 53:26lighter. I'm gonna do a a little
- 53:28lightning round to wrap us up a little bit.
- 53:34OK, so some most of them are like would you rather almost but
- 53:40audition self tape night before or the morning of?
- 53:44Night before, night before, night before.
- 53:49Of memorizing lines in the car or in the shower.
- 53:58I would say I don't even like to memorize.
- 54:01I like to make memories and I like to do that in the car.
- 54:04Yeah, that's a good like that one, your dream role now versus
- 54:12your, your dream role, your younger self dream role.
- 54:17My younger self dream role was like Quentin Tarantino, like
- 54:20yeah, badass. Like shoot him up, beat him up.
- 54:22Now my dream role would be something like Avatar.
- 54:25Yeah. Oh God, yeah.
- 54:27That'd be wild. What do you think is the hardest
- 54:31part about being a working mom that?
- 54:34A working actor mom that that no one warned you about.
- 54:39I mean, they don't warn you about anything, I guess.
- 54:41Yeah. Right.
- 54:42Where's the book? Can we get a handbook?
- 54:46Well, I'll just put everyone's inner.
- 54:49You can do it. What didn't they warn me about?
- 54:54I guess I'll put it this way. They didn't warn me about how
- 54:59much of A better actress I would become.
- 55:03I love that. Well, I was going to ask what
- 55:05was the best part that surprised you?
- 55:06But I feel like that's. It.
- 55:08Yeah, yeah, yeah. What is your current non
- 55:13negotiable on set or at home? My current non negotiable.
- 55:18Yeah, oh, my non negotiable. On set or at home, my non
- 55:28negotiable. Oh my goodness.
- 55:29That's a problem. Maybe a boundary?
- 55:31Maybe that would be easier? I would say, I mean the first
- 55:41thing that comes to mind is respect.
- 55:43I'd like to, I'd like to give respect and receive it in
- 55:46return. That's with my child, that's
- 55:48with my Co workers, that's with. That's a foundational value that
- 55:51I teach and I exude wherever I go.
- 55:55I mean, that's a good one. We should have that.
- 55:58What's something that you're proud of that has nothing to do
- 56:02with your resume? Of course I'm going to say being
- 56:08a mom, that's what I'm proud of. I'm proud of.
- 56:13I'm proud of being a mom against all odds because it's not
- 56:15something that I imagined for myself.
- 56:18It's not even something I wanted.
- 56:19And now it's the best part of my life.
- 56:22Isn't it great? I'm always telling this to
- 56:26people where I'm like, we it's so easy for people for parents
- 56:29to talk about the negative stuff because that's so much easier
- 56:33for non parents to relate to as well.
- 56:36And it's just easier, unfortunately to complain about
- 56:41things like I'm tired. I'm well, all of those things,
- 56:44but it's like it's so hard because there are no words to
- 56:48talk about the good. Like how can I?
- 56:52There's not enough words to explain the good.
- 56:55Yeah, yes. It's so fulfilling in all the
- 56:58ways. It's like we get to, I sometimes
- 57:00feel like, you know, we get to sort of raise ourselves over
- 57:05again. It's kind of, it's a, it's a
- 57:07beautiful, beautiful experience. It's so healing.
- 57:11OK, finish this sentence right now.
- 57:14I'm finally going to allow myself to.
- 57:19Right now, I'm going to finally allow myself to to, I'm just
- 57:26going to say I'm going to continue to allow myself to let
- 57:37go. I mean, that's the first thing
- 57:39that comes to mind. It's the hardest thing for me,
- 57:41the biggest challenge. So I don't need to reframe the
- 57:43question but. Let.
- 57:45It go the question. Of course, if if an actor mom is
- 57:54OK, it's no longer the speed round, but if it if an actor mom
- 58:00listening now is in the trenches and feeling stuck or invisible,
- 58:06what would you want them to hear?
- 58:11I need them to hear that this too shall pass, just like we
- 58:16spoke about earlier. I think invisibility is a really
- 58:21powerful word to use because that even makes me feel like I.
- 58:28That term encompasses so much of how I felt on my journey as a
- 58:32mother and a single mother. And ultimately, we are only
- 58:36invisible when we become invisible to ourselves.
- 58:39So whatever is left in you to be able to pull yourself through
- 58:44and be able to find even a glimmer of yourself in the IT
- 58:48might not be who you were, it might be who you will become.
- 58:52Turn on that light and just keep it on, because this too shall
- 58:55pass. I.
- 58:59Think we can all hear that? Right.
- 59:03Yeah. What does success look like to
- 59:06you now? As success looks like me having
- 59:14a happy kind child and getting to make a living consistently
- 59:22doing what I love to do, where both of our passions are being
- 59:26fed and ultimately I'm pretty simple as it comes to that.
- 59:33I would love to one day, like, you know, and this is more
- 59:36literal, but I would love to grow my own food.
- 59:39I would love to just be self-sufficient, you know, have
- 59:42my own space and, and just really be able to nourish myself
- 59:46and my family and build this a nice little tight knit community
- 59:51and, and be able to, to reciprocate the giving.
- 59:58Well, now with, I mean this will come out after obviously after
- 1:00:02the new year has. Begun.
- 1:00:05But what is something you're excited about for next year?
- 1:00:09Either that it's in the works or that you're hoping for for not
- 1:00:16even just 2026, but that's coming up next for you.
- 1:00:20I'm excited to do to delve deeper into my writing journey.
- 1:00:24I'm pretty new at it and it arose because of just like you
- 1:00:27said, you know, sometimes you're like, oh wow, there has to be
- 1:00:29something in between. And so I'm excited to to, to
- 1:00:35dive deeper into that experience and to also do more voiceover
- 1:00:39because I love it. I love it.
- 1:00:41You just go into the studio with your tea and sweatpants.
- 1:00:44Like, yes, that is right up my alley.
- 1:00:47I love it. So I'm calling all that in.
- 1:00:50I'm calling it in and I'm very excited for it.
- 1:00:53Manifest it. All yes, manifesting it all.
- 1:00:59Oh my God, Well, I hope that all of the good things come to you
- 1:01:04in the new year and beyond. And I'm so, so grateful that you
- 1:01:11let me talk to you and answer all these amazing questions.
- 1:01:15And I'm calling my my own your amazing answers.
- 1:01:19Your questions are amazing too. It's good.
- 1:01:22It's OK. We both, both of us.
- 1:01:26So great to talk to you and I'm so grateful that you were a part
- 1:01:30of Mommy One. Oh, it says such a pleasure.
- 1:01:33Thank you so much for having me. You are a joy, beautiful from
- 1:01:36the inside out. Thank you.
- 1:01:38Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Mommy Wood.
- 1:01:42Now, before you go, if Mommy Wood feels like a place you
- 1:01:45belong, I want to invite you to join the Village, which is our
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- 1:02:01It's the best way to support the show and help keep Mommy Wood
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- 1:02:09you feel seen, supported, or less alone, I'd love for you to
- 1:02:13join The Village on Patreon. The link to the Patreon is in
- 1:02:17the show notes. I want to give a huge thank you
- 1:02:20to my producer and good friend Cecilia for making Mommy Wood
- 1:02:24what it is and to Edith Mudge for the Mommy Wood theme music.
- 1:02:29As always, thank you for being a part of Mommy Wood.
- 1:02:33Please come be a part of the village as well.
- 1:02:36I hope to see you there.