Redefining Motherhood’s Worth Through Art with Memoirist Sarah Chaves

Postpartum Production

"I put so much pressure on myself to produce when I was pregnant. Just because there was that end date of Ooh, baby will finally come out into the world but also like this end of a chapter in my life where I would be able to produce as widely or as efficiently before I actually had the baby. So that was probably my biggest challenge during pregnancy."

~ Sarah Chaves

In this episode, Kaitlin is joined by Sarah Chaves. Sarah is a first-generation Portuguese-American author, mom and educator whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, and more. Her current project is a memoir about the death of her father when she was a teenager.

Sarah is also a mother to one vivacious little boy named Leo, and was three months postpartum at the time of this episode’s recording.

Sarah and Kaitlin talk about:

• The questions and topics mothers face during postpartum and beyond, plus those that many creative practitioners also face.
• The financial impact of being a mother, specifically the challenges of navigating a complete lack of a federal US maternity leave policy, which leaves so many new families in the lurch.
• Sarah's memoir and the role her mother played both as a character in her writing & work.
• And lots more.

Sarah can be found on:

Instagram: @sarita_chaves

Her website: sarahchaves.com

Related resources:

• 
  
• Some further reading on the false dichotomy between motherhood and creativity that Sarah talks about.
• 
  

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com