“If you feel like you’re constantly running on stress hormones while trying to hold everyone else together, it’s time to put your own oxygen mask on first.” The Perfect Storm: Perimenopause + Motherhood + Autoimmunity Let’s be real: perimenopause is already a lot. Throw in motherhood (whether you’ve got toddlers melting down because the banana…
If you’ve found yourself asking: “Why am I so tired all the time?” you’re not alone. Perimenopause brings profound shifts in hormones, metabolism, and energy systems. But exhaustion doesn’t have to be your new normal. With the right supports, you can move from depleted to deeply energized — naturally. The Perimenopause Energy Crisis Perimenopause often…
If you’re tired of being tired, lying awake drenched in sweat wondering if you’ll ever sleep through the night again, this is your rescue plan. The Sleep Crisis of Perimenopause For most of my life, sleep has been like shifting sand. Sometimes solid, sometimes slipping out from under me. As a teen, I wasn’t consuming…
Why hormonal changes can make autoimmune symptoms flare — and what to do first. Recently, I shared about our camping trip — the dust, the chaos, and the reminder that sometimes resilience means making things work with less-than-ideal tools. Midlife can feel a lot like that. You think you know your body — what foods…
Perimenopause isn’t “just hormones.” It’s a whole-body shift that touches your energy, sleep, mood, immune system, and even your sense of self. Here’s what’s really going on—and why you don’t have to go through it alone. What Is Perimenopause, Really? Perimenopause is the transition before menopause when your hormones—especially estrogen and progesterone—begin to fluctuate. For…
When I was serving as a missionary, my spiritual mentor—who had studied under a Coptic monk—taught me to feed and expand the spirit by proclaiming scripture over every part of my being: body, soul, spirit, and mind. Not abstract theology—embodied practice. Breath and spoken truth. Prayer placed gently on the tissues that were holding old…
When I couldn’t run without pain… I knew something deeper was going on. It started as knee pain while I was packing to move to Northern Ireland. My husband had already gone ahead for work after our visas were denied, and I was managing life solo with our three young kids, preparing to reunite after…
Back in 2017, I didn’t know I was running on fumes—because I was drinking so much coffee. By afternoon, I’d switch to fizzy homemade water kefir or ginger beer I brewed in my kitchen and handed out to friends like some kind of Middle Ages alewife. I didn’t know the words “adrenal fatigue” yet. I…
This recipe started as my easy evolution of the old nutritional therapy trick: eating a whole lemon — peel and all — every day to support bile flow, detox, regulate blood sugar, improve the gut microbiome, reduce inflammation, and promote a healthy intestinal lining. I used to choke down preserved lemons when I was first…