We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lisa Hardwick . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lisa below.

Lisa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?

Part of my work has been facilitating support groups for expectant and new moms in my local community of Greater Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2021 I facilitated one of these groups, and one of the participants was a brand new single mom with a three week old baby. She was lonely, exhausted, in a lot of pain from her C-Section recovery, and planning to return to work in a few short weeks.

She needed a village, and she needed it fast.

The other moms in the group immediately surrounded her with compassion, kindness, and friendship. They spoke words of truth and light to her, and I could see the relief on her face as soon as she knew she was safe. She didn’t have an easy journey ahead of her, but she made it with the help of her village.

Nearly a year later I received a birthday party invitation to celebrate her son’s first birthday. When I arrived I got to see a woman who was no longer lonely and lost, but proud of herself for what she had accomplished. She was confident as a mom, beaming at her sweet baby who looked back at her with all of the love in the world.

Those are the moments I work for.
Those are the moments I live for.

Lisa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My journey into my career began when I became a mom in 2018. I suffered from debilitating postpartum depression and anxiety, and despite having all the mental health resources and support available to me, I barely survived. It was during that time that I learned about the prevalence of postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety.

I realized that this was not a “me” problem – this was a global mental health crisis that I never realize existed. Millions of mothers suffer worldwide each year, and when mom goes down, we all go down. I knew that I wanted to do something, anything, for the mamas who would come after me and struggle through these mental health battles. I wanted to let them know that they are not alone, and that help is available. I wanted to break the stigma surrounding postpartum depression so more moms could have the courage to step forward and say, “I am not ok. I need help.”

In 2020 my book, A Life Postpartum: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression, was published and has been recommended by Postpartum Support International, the largest nonprofit that supports worldwide maternal mental health efforts. As I spoke with more and more moms I continued to hear the same thing:

“I’m so lonely.”

Moms need other moms. They need a place where they can find compassion, not criticism. So in 2021 I established my small business, A Life Postpartum LLC, which has been facilitating support groups for expectant and new moms in my local community of Greater Cincinnati.

I also work as a public speaker, advocating for new moms and raising awareness for maternal mental health. My hope is that, as a society, we can shift our cultural narrative from “all about the baby” to “all about the family.”

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I no longer believe that money equals success.

I used to, but now I don’t.

As a small business owner, I saw how difficult it is to make a profit, or even break even, during the beginning stages of my business. That does not mean I failed.

I now believe, after a bit more trial and error, that success has less to do with the bottom line and more to do with one’s ability to recover from disappointment and failures, as they are inevitable. The willingness to stick to my values and core mission in the face of difficulties and setbacks have added immense value to my brand and have helped me establish my reputation as a trustworthy business owner.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

My field is full of fellow moms who have seen the gaps in the system, the lack of support for new moms, and have made a conscientious decision to do something about it. Most of them are balancing mom life with career life, and it’s brutal. What has been most helpful for me is developing a community and a system of support. It’s all about the relationships. Like anything in life, it takes a team effort to achieve greatness.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alifepostpartum.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alifepostpartum/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alifepostpartum
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alifepostpartum/

Image Credits
Tasha Pinelo Photography