Every Mom Found Me
Every Mom found me during a season when I was rebuilding my life and learning how to truly care for myself.
The day I discovered Every Mom, I actually had other plans. At the last minute, I realized I didn’t want to do them. Instead, I chose myself and went to the bookstore in Newnan. Books are my happy place, and that space has always felt safe and grounding to me.
While there, I was talking with the owner about LGBTQ authors when Whitney joined the conversation. She and I ended up breaking off into our own, and I shared how difficult it had been for me to find community. That moment felt guided—like my higher power placing the right person in my path at the right time. This group was meant to be part of my life.
At that point, I had lost much of my nuclear family and the inner circle I once relied on. I was pouring into myself, learning self-love, and rebuilding community after nearly a decade of searching in Newnan. It was a lonely time, but I never stopped hoping I would find my people.
When I decided to come to my first Every Mom gathering, I was incredibly nervous. After years of putting myself out there and being rejected for not fitting into a “cookie-cutter” version of who people thought a mom or woman should be, I was afraid of being judged or not belonging again. Whitney wasn’t able to be there for that first event, but she had Alena reach out to me beforehand. Even through text, Alena was so comforting and genuine that I felt safe enough to show up.
When I arrived, Alena made sure I didn’t feel alone or out of place. She showed up with such kindness and authenticity that my nervousness and fear immediately disappeared. In that moment, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and knew I had found something I’d been missing.
On my second visit, I had another powerful realization. As I listened to other moms share, I realized how many of us were parenting children somewhere on the autism spectrum. I was overcome with emotion and started crying, because in that moment, I knew I had found my village. As an autistic person myself, I realized this was a space where I didn’t have to mask, and where my children were fully accepted for who they are too.
Every Mom became that place—a place where we all have space to be perfectly ourselves, without conforming, masking, or altering who we are to fit expectations. That kind of acceptance was something I had never experienced in my life before this group.
This community is inclusive, nonjudgmental, and deeply supportive. Through Every Mom, I’ve learned that I am not broken—that I am worthy of love and belonging simply for who I am, exactly as I am.
These women have given me courage: courage to keep going, to live authentically, and to trust that I belong. Every Mom helped me realize that my people were out there all along—I just hadn’t found them yet.
- Kelsey M.
