About the Episode:
What if the stories we struggle to share are the very ones that could help someone else feel less alone?
In this deeply moving episode of the Modern Mommy Doc Podcast, Dr. Whitney sits down with physician and author Dr. Rebecca Thompson to talk about her powerful collaborative memoir, Held Together: A Shared Memoir of Motherhood, Medicine, and Imperfect Love. The book weaves together the real-life stories of 22 women navigating infertility, pregnancy loss, adoption, medical trauma, foster care, grief, and the countless unexpected turns that shape family life.
Dr. Thompson shares the origin of the book, born from her own life-threatening pregnancy complications, and why preserving women’s stories felt essential in a culture that often pushes these experiences into silence. Together, Whitney and Rebecca explore themes of isolation, vulnerability, grief, flexibility, and the emotional complexity of becoming—and being—a parent.
Throughout the conversation, they unpack what it means to:
- Feel deeply alone in motherhood, even when surrounded by others
- Let go of rigid expectations and grieve the family life you thought you would have
- Navigate identity when medical knowledge doesn’t protect you from fear or uncertainty
- Face the guilt and self-blame that often show up when our children struggle
- Redefine family beyond biology through adoption, fostering, step-parenthood, and chosen family
- Hold grief and joy at the same time, especially when honoring lost parents and imperfect relationships
They also touch on the dangers of misinformation around autism, vaccines, Tylenol, and fever, offering an evidence-based reminder that correlation does not equal causation, and that parents deserve science, not shame.
One of the most powerful through-lines of this episode is the idea that no love is perfect but it is real. Through stories of romantic partnerships, medical care, friendship, and community, this conversation is a reminder that none of us do this alone, even when it feels that way in the moment.
Whether you are on a straightforward path to parenthood or a deeply complicated one, this episode will leave you feeling seen, steadied, and reminded that your story matters.
About Our Guest:
Dr. Rebecca N. Thompson is a physician and the author of Held Together: A Shared Memoir of Motherhood, Medicine, and Imperfect Love. She collaborated with 21 other women across medicine and caregiving professions to craft a decade-long storytelling project that preserves the emotional truth and medical reality of modern motherhood.
Learn more and order the book at: www.RebeccaNThompson.com
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