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This is it, Mother Plussers—our final episode together. After four incredible years, 160+ episodes, and thousands of conversations with you, we’re closing this chapter of the Mother Plus Podcast.

Just like motherhood has seasons, so does this show. In this farewell episode, we each share where life has taken us, what we’ve learned along the way, and how you can continue to connect with us in the next season of our journeys.

✨ In this goodbye episode, you’ll hear:

• Steph’s reflections on navigating midlife, raising teens, and the overlap between perimenopause, ADHD, and creativity
• Stacey’s 6 favorite lessons from the Mother Plus community (from mom-cations to rituals to finding your people)
• Why we started this podcast in the first place—and how it transformed us as mothers and as women
• The new projects we’re each creating, and how you can join us there

👋 Where to find us next:

Connect with Steph

• 🎧 The Peri-Normal Podcast
  on Apple and Spotify
• ✍️ The Reclamation Era
  on Substack
• 📝 MidCircle
  — a writing community for midlife women
• 🌐 Her website
  — book a 1:1 session, join a workshop, or explore her latest projects & book news
• 📸 Instagram: @stephsprenger
  
  

Connect with Stacey

• 🎧 The Next Phase Podcast —
• on Apple & Spotify
• 📸 Instagram: @stacehutson
  
  

This isn’t goodbye forever—it’s just a shift into what comes next. Thank you for listening, for laughing and crying with us, for showing us none of us are alone.

👉 Tap the links in the show notes to keep following along.

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MOTHER PLUS BLOG: https://www.motherplusser.com/blog

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In this unforgettable episode, we're revisiting a conversation that blew our minds—and helped reframe everything we thought we knew about ADHD, motherhood, and what it means to be “too much.”

Tracy Otsuka is the host of the wildly popular ADHD for Smart Ass Women podcast and author of the book by the same name. A former attorney and certified ADHD coach, Tracy has become a global voice for women who are tired of being pathologized—and ready to celebrate what makes them different.

In this conversation, we cover:

• Why ADHD in women is often misunderstood, masked, and misdiagnosed
• How “smart girl syndrome” leads to high achievement—and high self-doubt
• The difference between the default mode network (DMN) and task positive network (TPN), and why they matter so much to ADHD brains
• The real reason motherhood can feel like Groundhog Day for women with ADHD
• How to get out of your head and into aligned action
• The truth about trauma, shame, and learned helplessness in ADHD women
• Why perfectionism and creativity often co-exist in neurodivergent women
• How Tracy’s approach brings humor, empowerment, and healing to thousands of women

This isn’t just a conversation—it’s a reframe. If you’ve ever felt like the “too much” girl who couldn’t keep up with motherhood, or like you’re sitting on a pile of potential you just can’t access, this episode is for you.

Featured Guest:
Tracy Otsuka is a certified ADHD coach, former SEC attorney, and the creator of the ADHD for Smart Ass Women podcast and book. Her podcast has over 5 million downloads and reaches listeners in 160 countries. She’s been featured in Forbes, ADDitude Magazine, and The Goal Digger Podcast, and moderates a Facebook group with nearly 100,000 members.

Resources & Mentions:

• Tracy Otsuka’s Podcast: ADHD for Smart Ass Women
• Dr. Sharon Saline
• Dr. Christine Li (The Procrastination Coach)

MOTHER PLUS INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mother_plus_podcast/

MOTHER PLUS FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/motherpluspodcast

MOTHER PLUS PERMISSION SLIP: https://www.motherplusser.com/Permission-Slip

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Steph sits down with writer, academic, and fellow ADHD-er Wendy Robinson to talk about how she wrote an entire novel in six months—while working full time and managing ADHD. This is a must-listen whether you're a writer, a creative, or just someone juggling a big project with a neurodivergent brain. Spoiler: it’s not about willpower—it’s about systems, self-compassion, and knowing your brain.

• Wendy wrote her novel in 6 months (!), thanks to structure, support, and knowing what works for her ADHD brain.
• They talk about the real executive functioning challenges that come with ADHD and how women especially are impacted.
• Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) is real and so relatable—especially when launching creative work into the world.
• Steph and Wendy bond over the “good girl” ADHD diagnosis story—how so many women go undiagnosed because they weren’t disruptive, just “daydreamy” and perfectionistic.
• Wendy shares her systems for getting big projects done: think writing retreats, body doubling at coffee shops, and her trusty “go bag.”
• The Parking Lot and Forward Only strategies are game-changers for staying focused and avoiding perfection paralysis.
• Why many ADHD women procrastinate by being too productive—but only for other people.
• Writing accountability groups are magic. External motivation > internal guilt.
• How Wendy redefined success: It’s not about the book deal. It’s about keeping promises to yourself and finishing the damn manuscript.
• Substack, querying, and how to cope when rejection stings like a wasp.
• “You don’t have to do it. But you’ll regret it if you don’t.” —On choosing your pain and finishing creative work.
  
  🧠 Quote of the Episode:
  “You’re seeing the scaffolding, not the reason the scaffolding is there.” — Wendy, on why high-functioning ADHD can still be deeply challenging.
  
  Wendy Robinson is a writer and higher ed nerd. In addition to working on a novel, she writes personal essays about parenting, life as a woman in middle age, pop culture, and more at her Substack Open Water (https://wendyrobinson.substack.com/).
• She also writes about all things higher education with a focus on the college admissions and financial aid processes to help parents of high school students feel less stressed at her other Substack, College Sanity (https://collegesanity.substack.com/).

MOTHER PLUS INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mother_plus_podcast/

MOTHER PLUS FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/motherpluspodcast

MOTHER PLUS PERMISSION SLIP: https://www.motherplusser.com/Permission-Slip

MOTHER PLUS NEWSLETTER: https://www.motherplusser.com/signup-page

MOTHER PLUS BLOG: https://www.motherplusser.com/blog