Welcome, friend! Today I have a very special guest on Creator’s Roulette. Maureen Hoff is the host of the podcast A Clubfoot Mom and she’s the author and author of Clubfoot Chronicles: Tips for Helping Your Clubfoot Cutie During Treatment (Goodreads). I connected with her through Betsy Miller as Maureen is the co-editor of Clubfoot Connections: Stories, Essays, and Poetry from the Clubfoot Community (Goodreads). I was curious to learn from Maureen about her podcast and what started as a few questions, turned into a conversation.
Maureen, welcome to Armed with A Book! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me. Can you tell me and my readers about yourself?
I find this question tricky to answer because I am not sure where to begin. I am the mother of three girls, who are the focus of my life and work. I am married to my best friend and high school sweetheart, and we have chosen to remain in the town we grew up in to raise our girls as well.
I have my masters is Marriage and Family Therapy and while I have never practiced therapy, my therapy background heavily impacts my work. My undergrad degree was in English lit, but I never had any aspirations of being an author or writer. I have been an avid reader from and early age and strongly believe in the power of reading to change your perspective and for individual growth.
I like to say I happened upon being an author. Through my personal experience I saw a community that needed resources and decided that if I wanted what didn’t exist, I better be the willing to create it. As the incomparable Toni Morrison said, “If you find a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” I simply took her advice and began to write, and it transformed my life.
How did A Clubfoot Mom come to be?
My youngest daughter was born with a birth defect called bilateral clubfoot in the spring of 2018, and we soon discovered just how involved we would be in her treatment. She completed a series of casts to get her feet into the correction position for the first 2 months of her life, and then she was moved to brace wear which would last for the next 5 years. During the first year of treatment it became very apparent that there was a large need for more supportive resources for clubfoot families. I spent the remainder of my daughter’s first year of life writing what would become my first book, Clubfoot Chronicles: Tips for Helping you Clubfoot Cutie During Treatment.
Clubfoot Chronicles is part resource guide and part memoir, and completely grounded in our experience as clubfoot parents. While the book was in the final stages of publishing, I decided to explore the idea of creating a clubfoot centric podcast as well. In full transparency, I was not much of a podcast listener, and had absolutely zero idea where to begin. I just felt pulled to create another avenue for information for the clubfoot community. I also felt a strong desire to find another way to be creative. I was like many other authors before me, who felt a certain void of creativity when the writing and editing process was complete, and desperately needed a new outlet.
So, I bought a simple microphone and recorded my first episode. I googled how to publish a podcast, chose a host platform, and published my first episode. I released that episode before even listening to it. I knew it if over analysed or over edited, that I would pick it apart and never press the publish button. I decided to just go for it and see what happened. I sent the published episodes to my family, and one of my brothers (I have 3!) sent me a note saying he could help me edit the audio of the episodes and add some intro music. He is a self-taught musician who records his own music and understands the ins and outs of the vocal tones and editing. I immediately jumped at the opportunity and 90 episodes later I have never looked back.
I love this origin story so much! What do you love most about your podcast?
I love all the episodes that feature guest interviews the most. Recording the solo episodes can feel like you are speaking into a void, I never really know if people are listening or if the information is relevant or helpful. So when I get the opportunity to speak to another person on the podcast, I relish the conversation. I also appreciate the variety of voices that are included in the podcast guests. It adds important value to the community for there to be a large representation of voices.
The connection with the individual clubfoot community voices through the podcast in part led to the creation of my second published book, Clubfoot Connections: Stories, Essays, and Poetry from the Clubfoot Community. It was another opportunity to amplify the individual clubfoot experience which has a tremendous impact on the community at large. Because of the podcast I was able to reach out to members of the community to contribute pieces and partnered with Betsy Miller to make it a reality. The people are the absolute best part of creating the podcast.
I totally relate to your experience of hosting people and talking to them rather than just sharing by yourself. Learning from other people and connecting with them has its own magic. I collaborate with people on my blog all the time but it is not the same as real-time collaboration where two people are together, as in your case when you are recording. I have done that by going on podcasts and I love it. I keep thinking I will make my own one day. Meantime, I have been using the collaboration feature on Instagram that gives me a sense of community that individual posts do not.
What kind of challenges have you faced with your podcast?
One of the biggest challenges I have faced is overcoming imposter syndrome to keep creating. One of the reasons I titled my podcast, A Clubfoot Mom, is because I know I am just one of thousands of clubfoot moms out there and never want my listeners to feel like I value my experience above theirs. I have had moments of self-doubt where I felt like, “Why would anyone listen to what I have to say? I am just one mom and there is nothing special about me.” It was hard for people in my inner circle to understand these feelings because they see me as someone who has accomplished so much already, publishing books, speaking at conferences, hosting virtual support groups, but I never stopped questioning whether I was worthy of this platform.
It is something that I still struggle with and need to constantly push through to continue to record and make content. I feel a lot of pressure to accurately capture the true voice of the clubfoot parent, but it also drives me to continue to amplify their voices. Being the parent of a clubfoot cutie comes with a lot of pressure to do the absolute best for your child and these parents need all the support they can get.
Thank you for sharing openly. You have hit a chord with me! Your answer reminds me of my own struggle with my blog and Instagram. I still wonder why would anyone read what I am saying about a book but like you, I have to keep going. With sharing reviews and reading books with friends, I have learned that we all have something unique to offer and that I want to iterate that for you. You are your version of the parent of a clubfoot child and by bringing in other voices (whether on the podcast or just personally getting to know people) who are united with you as parents but different in experiences, you are creating an honest community that is not afraid to talk about the tough stuff and rejoice in each other’s joyful moments. Keep going!
Have you felt burnout? How did you manage it?
Burnout is real in anything you commit to long term. There were moments on my daughter’s clubfoot journey when we faced burnout and it felt like an extra struggle to put on her Boots and Bar every night. I have experienced similar feelings when creating the podcast. A lot of time and energy goes into the planning, recording, editing, and publishing each podcast episode. There have been moments when I felt like it was too much. I was publishing an episode a week, and realized that it was just too much with all the other projects I was working on. I decided to release episodes as I could, rather than with a timeframe in mind.
I made the decision early on to not make my podcast a revenue stream. I do not use advertisers or sponsors, so that I am free to create whatever content I want without feeling pressure from any outside voice. This has allowed me to use my most authentic voice and given me freedom in my creation which is worth more than any revenue I would bring in. However, because it is not a revenue stream for me, sometimes I can feel myself putting it on the backburner to other projects that need to be completed. It has been a give and take for me, especially as the podcast grows.
What reinvigorates me is the need from the community. When I receive an email from a parent who has just learned about their child’s clubfoot diagnosis or has an idea for an episode, I feel renewed. It is hard to fully understand the impact the podcast is having on the community because it is largely a solo endeavour, but when I receive those emails and messages I have a small glimpse of just how necessary this information is. I continue to try and create new, relevant, and authentic content for all the parents who need it and hope that the podcast is hitting the mark in some capacity.
Again, I relate with you and your experience! My passion for books is the same. There is a lot of planning and work that goes into this. Without the revenue generation, I am able to be authentic and create on my own timelines. Based on what you said about releasing a podcast every week – I have been there, posting everyday to my blog. Sometimes I was able to keep that momentum, other times I had to step back and let it go. It is amazing how much self-work happens when it comes to pursuing our passions, when we set the timelines and when we are the boss. Side note: I was recently reading a book called From Chaos to Creativity (Goodreads) and it is the best book I have read that talks about a creative system and how to pursue our passions. I would love your thoughts on it, if you pick it up.
What advice would you give to people who are new to podcasting or thinking about getting into it?
The best advice I can give to new podcasters is just create what you think needs to be in the world. Don’t overthink it. It is easy to get stuck in the weeds of creation but keep stepping forward to create your own path. I had ZERO experience with podcasting prior to recording my first episode, but I felt a deep compulsion that it needed to be done, so I just went for it. It helped me to not have high expectations for downloads and subscribers. I didn’t care if only 10 people listened, if it helped those 10 people then I had accomplished my goal. You start at the beginning and go from there. Determine what you want to talk about and there will be an audience that fits into that. You don’t need a bunch of fancy equipment or a studio to get started, all you need is a topic, a mic, and a will to create.
What amazing sentiments to end with! Thanks again, Maureen, it has been a pleasure to have you on here and get to know you! You are an inspiration.
Thank you friend for reading to the end of the post. I hope you enjoyed this conversation and found something inspirational in it. You can connect with Maureen on her website and Instagram.
Check out Betsy’s post where she shared about the origins of Clubfoot Connections: Stories, Essays, and Poetry from the Clubfoot Community.
Cover Photo by Felipe Correia on Unsplash
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