The Day Everything Felt Too Much
I wrote a resignation from motherhood once. A real one. Not imagined for effect, but written on a day when my patience felt worn down and my mind was clouded with emotional overwhelm. It was one of those days that many overwhelmed mothers recognise, the kind where motherhood burnout sits quietly beneath the surface until something small pushes you past your limits. In my case, it was a teenager, one who has never packed a school lunch in his life, announcing that he could do a better job at this parenting thing.
So yes, I picked up a pen and wrote a resignation from motherhood. It was never about walking away, and it had nothing to do with how deeply I loved my children. The letter grew out of a quiet truth I could no longer avoid, an identity loss that was creeping into my days and draining my energy. The words coming out of my mouth no longer felt like mine, and I barely recognised the woman saying them.
I realised I was trying to hold everything together while pretending I was fine, and something inside me finally refused to keep up the performance.
When it was finished, I pinned the letter to the fridge simply because I was curious to see if anyone would notice. That part of the story appears in my book and is worth reading. But what mattered most was the truth it uncovered. There was a widening gap between what I felt and how I was living, and I had been too tired and too determined to appear fine to see it.
How One Letter Became a Book
What started as emotional overwhelm and parental burnout became pages in a journal and a way of trying to understand how an ordinary moment could shake me awake and help me reconnect with myself. As the words formed, I realised this story needed to be more than a private reflection. It needed to become a memoir that other parents could see themselves in.
The book is filled with real, lived moments. The things that went well, the things that did not and the lessons we learned together as a family. These stories are not there to spotlight our lives. They are there to remind you that you are not alone in the emotional truth beneath the surface, the truth we often brush aside while we carry on with the day.
The Tools That Helped Me Reconnect
Every insight in the book and every practical tool comes from what I have learned as a coach and from my own imperfect attempts at conscious parenting. They are not rigid systems. They are gentle tools for emotional regulation and simple ways to build emotional connection with your children in the middle of real life.
If you would like to explore some of the tools that shaped the book, you can read more about how emotional coaching transformed my parenting here:
https://leonorafound.com/emotional-coaching-parenting-with-presence/
It also helped me understand why taking space for myself was not selfish. If that part of the journey speaks to you, this piece on why prioritising me time matters for mothers may be helpful:
https://leonorafound.com/importance-of-me-time-for-mothers/
The Truth That Changed Everything
Writing a resignation from motherhood was never about quitting. It was about naming what I had been avoiding for far too long. It was the moment I realised that my emotional overwhelm needed attention, not silence.
That single letter became the beginning of writing a book about emotional growth in families and the many ways we can reconnect with ourselves when we are finally honest about what is happening inside.
If you would like updates on the book, the publication timeline and the behind-the-scenes pieces, you are welcome to subscribe to my newsletter. And if you know someone who might find comfort or companionship in this story, feel free to share it with them.
Sometimes change begins with one honest sentence.
For me, it started with a resignation from motherhood.
