acknowledgments

There are a few people who have been with this book from preconception to birth. Without them, this book would have been frozen in time, left behind at any number of stages.

A special thanks to Joelle Hann, a friend and editor so true that she came from New York to Rio to ferret out a form from all my ideas and experiences and to make sure I got the proposal done. She assured me and reassured me that I was the one to write this book, and that even in the face of single parenting and freelance work, I could do it. She never lost sight of the purpose of this book for the lives of women and mothers, and championed me at every doubting turn.

It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a village to raise a mother. And it takes a village to write a book. I was able to write this book because for the first time since becoming a mother, I finally had the support that I suggest every mother needs to thrive. My parents gave me every type of support possible—a place to live, emergency school pick-ups, long weekends away, and pep talks. Mom: you gave me life, and you have given this book a life through your presence in Cecilia’s. Dad: thank you for being my first model of the masculine in service to the feminine, and for showing that to Cece. Thank you for believing in me.

Thank you to my dearest friends who had lengthy conversations with me, who stepped up to care for Cecilia, who asked me how it was going, who shared their own experiences of motherhood, and who believed in this work throughout the process. These women are each so profound in their own right that this book is as much theirs as it is mine: Heather Rowley, Ruthie Fraser, Ellen Boeder, Chrisandra Fox, Lindsay Mackay Ashmun, Erin Harper, Maggie Rintala, Paula Self, Laura Regalbuto, and Fernanda Pinheiro.

To my Brazilian friend-family, who cradled me and helped me grow as a woman and a mother, never judging and always loving: Jenny, Helcio, Vivi, Sergio, Fernanda, Stefano, Ale, Lis, Paula, and Greice.

I had the special counsel from a group of wise women and single mothers when we convened as a quartet: Alison Marie, Jennifer Owens, and Centehua Sage. Their support happened on all realms, seen and unseen to bring this work forward.

Also in my cosmic support corner at all times were Ash Robinson, Maura Rassman, Sue Glumac, and Monisha Chandanani, whose wisdom is sprinkled in nonlinear ways throughout.

Taylor Phinny and Laura Centorrino shared their sorcery in helping me understand the energy dimensions more deeply. Eden Fromberg, MD, consulted on various sections of this book, setting me straight and offering her decades of wisdom bridging the worlds of holistic healing and Western medicine. Conversations with acupuncturists and scholars Micah Arsham, Kristin Hauser, Kristin Gonzalez, and Sabine Wilms made sure that I honored the Chinese medicine tradition. Bhakti Wong also contributed her vast experience in yogic arts, bodywork, and traditional Asian postpartum healing traditions—this book is enriched by her sweetness. Cristal Mortensen was instrumental in the development of all the sections on how to work with the nervous system in a practical way. She also was there at the pivotal moments when I needed soul strengthening. Ellen Boeder’s friendship and deep insight as a mother and a relationship counselor enriches everything on intimacy and relationship.

To my Magamama team, Centehua and Maria: thanks for believing in this mission and being pioneers. And Centehua, this book is enriched a thousand-fold by your food-medicine wisdom and kitchen magic.

To Heloisa Lessa and Maysa Luduvice Gomez: thank you for your care and the gift of my birth as a mother. I have learned so much from both of you.

All of the employees at Lofty Coffee met me with smiles, checked in on my progress, and helped make writing this book all the more enjoyable with great coffee.

To all my teachers of yoga, Rolfing, Somatic Experiencing, and Sexological Bodywork, my auspicious karma in these departments is not lost on me, and I am using every ounce of wisdom that I gleaned for the healing of all beings.

To all the women who have blessed me by sharing your stories, your lives, and your bodies with me to explore the kaleidoscopic reality of this work. To Robin Lim, Aviva Romm, Christiane Northrup, Maya Tiwari, Jeannine Parvati Baker, Tami Lynn Kent, Pam England, Uma Dinsmore-Tuli, Ina May Gaskin, and Tsultrim Allione, who stood as beacons—mothers, visionaries, healers, and advocates of women everywhere, on your shoulders I stand. Thank you for showing me a way. To Alisa Vitti, whose book was a salvation and who then graciously accepted my invitation to write the foreword for this book.

Thanks to Beth Frankl for seeing the value in this work immediately, and to the whole team at Shambhala Publications for creating such a beautiful book. Thank you, Wren, for bringing the illustrations to life, with beauty and true artistry. Thanks to Gretchen Stelter for bringing the finish line back into sight.

And finally, to my mentor Ellen Heed, who showed me this road to healing for myself and for the thousands of women we now serve. I owe my full recovery and radiant health that has become the platform for my life’s work, as well as the eyes to see this path, to you.

KIMBERLY ANN JOHNSON