On a winter afternoon, with my cats curled up by my feet, I sat down with my laptop and journal to write about the women who have quietly walked alongside me this past year. Dear friend, I don’t write an annual feature on International Women’s Day. Rather, the trend has been that I wait for something meaningful to show up in life to share with you. This year’s International Women’s Day is like no other. Today is purely a look at women writers who inspire me and whose words I turn to regularly in this season of new parenthood and continuing to hone my writer self. Some of them have published books while others have not. Let me know if you are familiar with any of the names!
Brianna Wiest
She kept me company at the end of my pregnancy and the start of motherhood. Back in 2025, I embarked on reading a chapter a day from her book, The Pivot Year (Goodreads). Each night, as my daughter slept, I would make notes about her short paragraphs, link them to what had been happening in my day to day. She helped me find my way back to writing. Though I did not finish then, I have loved restarting it this year and leaving myself shorter notes.
It’s chapter 67 today. Did you know that many days of the year have already passed?
Sarah Blondin
I joined InsightTimer in June 2025 and I am in this app everyday. As I leaned more into listening than reading, I found Sarah Blondin. If there is a voice in the world I would listen to on repeat, it’s Sarah’s. Whenever I need or have time with myself, I listen to Live Awake, her complete podcast series. I love her heart minded techniques, the self talk, the calmness and music in her meditations. Her words move me every single time. I find myself seeking out her book, Heart Minded (Goodreads) every couple weeks.
Alex Elle
Around the same time I discovered Alex Elle. Alex’s work is focused on healing through journaling. There was a week when I listened to Exploring Affirmations as Meditation every night and enjoyed guided journaling to soft music. After the Rain: Gentle Reminders for Healing, Courage, and Self-Love (Goodreads) was a beautiful book that I spent a long time with. How We Heal: Uncover Your Power and Set Yourself Free (Goodreads) is a current read for me.
Harriet Lerner
Harriet Lerner is a well known psychologist who has written numerous works about the lives of women and the complexity of being a woman, particularly a mother. I found her through my therapist who recommended The Dance of Anger (Goodreads), but I rarely read what I am told and instead picked up The Mother Dance (Goodreads). It goes beyond new parenthood and I loved seeing the intricacies of growing up with children. Fun fact, my therapist did not know about this book so there I was in the next session, recommending something to her by an author she recommends.
Sarah Napthali
Motherhood influenced by Buddhism!? When I found Sarah, I discovered a writer who was not afraid to write about tough feelings. I love her questions, the ways in which motherhood has challenged her and the inspiration that Buddhism has offered in these times. Buddhism for Mothers: A Calm Approach to Caring for Yourself and Your Children (Goodreads) gave me lots to relate to and bring into my life. I am in the middle of Buddhism for Mothers of Young Children: Becoming a Mindful Parent (Goodreads).
Janet Lansbury
I found Janet Lansbury through one of my Montessori books. Janet is trained in RIE (Resources for Infant Educarers) and similar to Sarah N., she writes about parenting. Her books are compilations of articles on her blog. This makes my heart sing because I have a blog and maybe someday my writings will be in a book.
When my daughter was only a few months old, I found new perspectives on how to be with my baby in Janet’s book, Elevating Child Care: A Guide to Respectful Parenting (Goodreads, Review).
Carolyn Anne Budgell
Another InsightTimer discovery, Carolyn’s talks are insightful and revealing. She talks about stress (I related deeply to her talk about the holiday season), our plans vs The Plan, imposter syndrome, wisdom that we have gathered over the years and much more. She is writing a book and I’ll sure enough be reading it.
Amber Kuileimailani Bonnici
I found Amber through a friend. She put together the Women Unleashed retreat in 2025 and there were so many sessions to choose from – body, spirit, creativity…. I did a few and it was lovely to connect with art. Nowadays, I enjoy reading Amber’s weekly newsletter where she touches on pursuing creativity while having a full life – partner, kids, business. She makes art that she fearlessly shares.
The other day she wrote about spending time by herself in a place that she has been going to since childhood, unplugging the clocks and going by the rhythm of her body, not mind. It was a day I had taken off myself to put my feet up. It was perfect!
Ann Handley
Everybody Writes (Goodreads). It’s been a long time since I read that book. I am an avid reader of Ann’s fortnightly newsletter, Total Annarchy, where she explores writing, marketing and living the best life. With the emergence of AI, she often writes about how it is changing marketing, the online space and writing itself. I love reading her thoughts. Sometimes, I respond to her questions. There are at least two articles in The Blogging Shelf that are brewing in my mind, inspired by her newsletter.
In TA#205 she said, “Own something that gets better the more you do it. Not a title. Not a tool.” That’s Armed with A Book for me.
Brené Brown
Brené (Goodreads page) has been an influence in my life for a long time. Braving the Wilderness, The Gifts of Imperfection, The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting… Brené has been giving me language for experiences, emotions, feelings that I did not know how to articulate. I like the stories she shares of her life. I remember some of them like they happened to me.
Did you know Brené is influenced by Harriet Lerner? I am yet to listen to their podcast episode together.
Conclusion
A year ago, I did not have most of these women in my life. Now I do. Their words have shaped how I mother, how I listen and how I write. I see their influence in my journals and on the blog.
On this International Women’s Day, take a moment to think about the women who inspire you, who support you even if they don’t know that you exist.
And if you are building something – your voice, your work, your self – know that somewhere, you may already be that woman for someone else. 🙂
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