Radically Alive Women

Julia Neumann from Radically Alive Women speaks with parenting coach and "Tides" rites-of-passage facilitator Amy Weber and young woman Gabriela Fagundes about mother-daughter relationships, especially the transition of girls into womanhood.
Amy describes navigating the empty nest as a mother and how "Tides" and "Rising Tides" help mothers and daughters renegotiate patterns, create space, and recognise that daughters’ transitions also change mothers’ identities. She shares how community and ritual can help normalise and celebrate menstruation, and support both the daughter’s push for freedom and the mother’s grief and identity shift as she “becomes obsolete” in stages.
Gabriela shares her experience of pushing away, cutting contact, trying to change her mother, and eventually listening and meeting her mother as a woman, emphasising how judging or blaming mothers impacts accepting life.
They discuss generational patterns, dependence, and consciously creating new ways to honour first bleeding.
Practical suggestions include creative expression of feelings for mothers, and daughters writing a four-page love letter to their mothers.
Amy's and Gabriela's co-written book on first bleeding is in an open-ended “gestation” process without a deadline.
*We’re passionate about bringing these conversations to you and would love your help to keep them going. Please consider supporting us by making a one-time contribution through ⁠radicallyalivewomen.com/invest, or joining our membership with a monthly subscription at radicallyalivewomen.com/edgecast/edgecast-membership-sign-up.
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Your support makes all the difference in continuing this work. Thank you!*

For more information:
Amy Weber, heartconnectionparenting.com
Gabriela Fagundes, gabrielafagundes.com
Rites of Passage Foundation, which offers the "Tides" programme, tracks.net.nz
Article by Gabriela Fagundes on the topic, gabrielafagundes.substack.com/p/the-joys-and-challenges-of-motherhood
Julia Neumann, julia-neumann.com
Radically Alive Women, radicallyalivewomen.com

This Radically Alive Women Edgecast conversation between Julia Neumann and Ellen Appleton explores “mother graduation,” the transition from actively mothering children to relating to them as independent adults.
Ellen describes her deep identification with motherhood, including two wanted pregnancies, and speaks to the innate wisdom, love, and intensity she experienced as a mother. The discussion highlights how motherhood is often undervalued by society and how lack of support for pregnant women and mothers can contribute to generational trauma. Ellen shares that parenting involves repeated separations and describes the particular pain of letting her son enter manhood without clear, emotionally supportive models of masculinity, including her anger at patriarchal systems that encourage men to shut down feelings.
She explains that mother graduation does not mean abandoning children, but completing the separation, cutting energetic ties, and shifting into being an elder—standing behind adult offspring rather than in front of them.
Ellen details her own year-plus process involving emotional healing, grieving, and group work with other mothers, with a ceremony as a culminating celebration. She notes improvements in her relationship with her son, discusses her request for her adult children to call her “Ellen” rather than “mom,” and reflects on reclaiming her identity and energy beyond motherhood to give back to the wider community.
Ellen offers initial guidance for mothers with children 18+ to make graduation a conscious topic, clearly hand responsibility back to their children, allow different timing for different children, and seek support, including coaching.
*We’re passionate about bringing these conversations to you and would love your help to keep them going. Please consider supporting us by making a one-time contribution through ⁠www.radicallyalivewomen.com/invest, or joining our membership with a monthly subscription at ⁠https://www.radicallyalivewomen.com/edgecast/edgecast-membership-sign-up/.
You can follow us on your favourite podcast platform and leave a rating to help others discover these conversations too!
Your support makes all the difference in continuing this work. Thank you!*

For more information:
Contact Ellen Appleton
On Mother Graduation

Shalane Hopkins went on an extraordinary adventure: she walked the 3,000-kilometer Te Araroa trail in New Zealand in 2010, just before its official opening, and came through Christchurch around the time of the earthquake.
In this honest conversation with Julia Neumann, Shalane shares her experiences, motivations, and what led her to stay in New Zealand and become a Kiwi citizen. The conversation delves into Shalane's personal growth journey, discussing her transformation from a people pleaser to someone who embraces her courage and authenticity. She talks about the importance of intuition, overcoming obstacles, and the lessons she learned while writing her book, 'One Step at a Time,' which chronicles her trail journey and is set for release on 10 February 2026.
The episode touches on themes of resilience, personal empowerment, intergenerational healing, seeking support, and how life's challenges can lead to profound self-discovery.
If you enjoyed this conversation or have other feedback for us, please email to: [email protected].
*We’re passionate about bringing these conversations to you and ask for your help to keep them going. Please consider supporting us by making a one-time contribution through ⁠www.radicallyalivewomen.com/invest, or joining our membership with a monthly subscription at ⁠https://www.radicallyalivewomen.com/edgecast/edgecast-membership-sign-up/.
You can follow us on your favourite podcast platform and leave a rating to help others discover these conversations too!
Your support makes all the difference in continuing this work. Thank you!*

For more information:
Shalane Hopkins, shalanehopkins.com
Te Araroa Trail, newzealand.com/nz/feature/te-araroa-trail/
Julia Neumann, julia-neumann.com
Radically Alive Women, radicallyalivewomen.com

Yael Deckelbaum is a platinum award-winning Israeli/Canadian singer songwriter and an activist for peace, and especially well known for her song “Prayer Of The Mothers”, written in 2016 to support the Women Wage Peace Movement: a song for the movement of Palestinian and Israeli mothers walking together for change and peace. You hear its tune at the beginning of the episode. Shared by millions, it inspired and keeps inspiring women across the globe to get together and take action.
This episode is a powerful and deep conversation between Yael Deckelbaum and Julia Neumann. Yael talks with vulnerability about her journey in the last 10 years since she wrote Prayer Of The Mothers, and how she went inwards to peel deep layers on what it means to be a woman. She shares her inner quest about the meaning of peace, and how she discovered that peace is an idea that cannot exist without people looking inwards and healing their core wounds.
Yael and Julia open up on:
what it means to be a woman;

women’s true leadership, from a place of love, vulnerability and connection with spirit, but without suppressing fear and denying their humanity;

the key things for the women's revolution to happen, including women tapping into their own spiritual power;

how women’s language is inclusive for all life and very different to patriarchal language that is based on and creates war;

how women’s voices have been censured for generations and the importance of women connecting with their true voice.

Yael shares how she uses singing and praying as a tool to speak her truth and encourages all women to connect with their true voice. She believes that change will be possible if women can speak in a real way. Besides using the voice, she shares other paths for transformation and healing and suggests reaching out to other wise women, like Marlee Wolf, the founder of Sovereign Ground Institute: sovereigngroundinstitute.com

* We’re passionate about bringing these conversations to you and would love your help to keep them going. Please consider supporting us by making a one-time contribution through ⁠www.radicallyalivewomen.com/invest, or joining our membership with a monthly subscription at ⁠https://www.radicallyalivewomen.com/edgecast/edgecast-membership-sign-up/.
You can follow us on your favourite podcast platform and leave a rating to help others discover these conversations too!
Your support makes all the difference in continuing this work. Thank you! *


Music: Prayer of the Mothers, by Yael Deckelbaum
Women of the World Unite, album by Yael Deckelbaum
Marlee Wolf, ⁠sovereigngroundinstitute.com⁠
Julia Neumann, julia-neumann.com
Radically Alive Women, radicallyalivewomen.com

Nicola Hearn is a woman that walks the edge between mainstream culture, activism, and advocacy for societal change. With a background in technology, she was the heart behind Third Space Canteen, a social enterprise promoting food culture.
In July 2025, one of her Instagram reels went viral in which she calls out greed and profit-orientation and calls in collaboration for societal change.
Listen in for a radically alive, authentic and vulnerable conversation with Julia Neumann, in which Nicola shares about her journey of self-discovery and activism. Nicola speaks about  her experiences with patriarchy, capitalism, and the unique struggles women face in these environments. She emphasizes the importance of collaboration, authenticity, and mutual support, as well as the need for systemic change to create a more equitable society and to ensure a better future for our children. Nicola also offers practical advice for women looking to find and speak their own truths.
*We’re passionate about bringing these conversations to you and appreciate your help to keep them going. Please consider supporting us by making a one-time contribution through ⁠www.radicallyalivewomen.com/invest, or joining our membership with a monthly subscription at www.radicallyalivewomen.com/edgecast/edgecast-membership-sign-up.
You can follow us on your favourite podcast platform and leave a rating to help others discover these conversations too!
Your support makes all the difference in continuing this work. Thank you!*

00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:11 Discovering Nicola Hearn
03:08 Challenging Capitalism and Patriarchy
03:40 Personal Pain and Misogyny
05:58 The Need for Societal Change
07:08 Finding a New Path
11:08 Internalized Patriarchy
19:02 Inspiration and Collaboration
25:42 Understanding Your Role in a Team
26:59 The Power of Collective Change
27:31 The Rise of Feminine Energy
28:32 Struggles and Societal Pressures
29:35 The Turning Point: Speaking Out
34:41 Harnessing Anger for Change
38:44 Envisioning a Better World
43:22 Practical Advice for Personal Growth

Further information:
Nicola Hearn on Instagram,
www.instagram.com/we_are_all_winners/
Third Space Canteen,
www.instagram.com/thirdspacecanteen/
Radically Alive Women website,
www.radicallyalivewomen.com
Julia Neumann
www.julia-neumann.com