alcoholism

motherland book

Motherland: A Memoir

by Barb Higgins ・ Proceeds go to The Molly B Foundation

Episode 31: Accepting and Healing from Trauma

As I look to the next chapter of my healing, I am working on confronting my trauma and coping from it. Being self aware and mindful of my relationships with others has been a struggle, but learning how to utilize gratitude and create room for trauma...

Episode 28: I Filmed a TV Commercial

I often feel like I’m living a parallel life with the different faces I put on for different people. This week I especially felt that when I went to film a commercial for a hospital. I spent an amazing week in Utah telling my story about having Jack...

Episode 26: The Unbearable Heaviness of Remembering

I really made a breakthrough with understanding my self sabotaging behavior and healing the trauma versus the situation. In this episode, I dive into why I sabotage myself when organizing my life, how culture affects how trauma is seen, and the...

Episode 25: I Keep Ending up in Traumatic Situations

Hindsight is a funny thing. Looking back on Facebook memories with Roy, my daughter’s health leading up to her death, and all the other choices made leave me in a tailspin. In this episode, I look into the trauma I’ve experienced and how I...

Episode 24: How Running Made me Confident

I never expected to start running track and field in high school with severe asthma. When I began running, I discovered I was great at it and went on to break records. Through the ups and downs, running helped me to solidify my identity, feel...

Episode 23: How CrossFit Changed my Life

CrossFit has helped me physically and mentally through my job loss and Molly’s death. Times were tough: being on food stamps, my house almost being put up for auction, and getting divorced all rolled into one. Through it all I had exercise which...

Episode 21: The Shame Alongside Abuse

I have been reading so many wonderful books to learn more abuse, relationships, and illness within the body. These books have allowed me to examine my own actions and shame that comes with being abused. In this episode, I explore my actions that lead...

Episode 20: The Physical Effects of Grief

Throughout my research on grief and trauma I have learned so much about the connection between the mind and body and how grief affects them, while discussing my own experiences of EMDR therapy and having my brain tumors taken out. In this episode, I...

Episode 18: Trauma Bonding in Grief

As a result of trauma, boundaries have been a lifelong struggle for me. From my friendship with Robin, my friendship with Steph, and my job loss at Bow boundary crossing has followed me. I explore these 3 events in my life and how trauma has affected...

Episode 17: The Christmas Show

My daughters have been dancing in the Christmas Show even since they were little. When Molly died traditions in my household changed and I began to see things differently. From starting to raffle off a basket full of things Molly loved, to fundraising...

Episode 15: Navigating the Holidays without Molly

Molly loved the holidays, and learning to live without her for them has been crushing. Over the past 5 years I’ve tried to distract myself and my family by going to Disney for Christmas, or helping others. The feeling of losing holidays as they used...

Episode 14: Feeling Paralyzed by Grief

In 2016, I felt paralyzed by grief. In between it all I found an attorney, helped my daughter through her grief, and talked to others in my grief groups. When 2017 rolled around, I started working again while juggling a million things on my plate. It...

Episode 13: Molly’s Funeral and Memorial

Planning Molly’s funeral and memorial was a difficult task while I kept my head above water. It was a whirlwind of 2 quick weeks where I made tough emotional decisions on what her funeral and musical would be like. Through it all, I had amazing...

Episode 4: My IVF Experience

Being an older mother had its challenges from doing two IVF transfers to dealing with preeclampsia. In this episode, I discuss my IVF experience, keeping my pregnancy a secret for months, and the journey of Jack’s birth.    Key...

Episode 3: Discovering my Brain Tumors

Having a baby was far from my mind in this episode as we dive into my medical tragedies and of course, the wonderful support system I met along the way. From my brain tumors, to my jaw surgery, to Kenny receiving a kidney, and the joy that came from...

Episode 2: The Beginnings of Jack

 Having a baby at 57 was a long journey between having surgery, struggling with my medication, going through a lawsuit, and trying to keep my families heads above water. In this episode, I am going to dive into the process of having Jack, the...

Episode 1: My Life Story

In this episode, I’m thrilled to take you through my life with all the ups and downs that have occurred. From working as a teacher, having a baby at 57, losing my daughter, and reconciling with grief my life is full of extraordinary events. Today...