Lila's journey

In this powerful and deeply personal episode, Lila shares her story as a woman of mixed Portuguese and Cuban heritage, offering insight into her unique path to reclaiming the feminine. She reminds us that education around womanhood, particularly menstrual and body literacy, is just as vital for boys as it is for girls.

Lila reflects on a childhood marked by neglect and abuse, and how, in the absence of nurturing care, she has learned to mother herself. Through reframing the menstrual cycle as something empowering and nourishing, she has been able to access a healing quality of the feminine that she never received growing up. She speaks of hormones not as chaotic or inconvenient, but as catalysts for a new phase of empowerment.

Her words highlight the profound human need for a mother’s love. She explores the lifelong journey of searching for the love we didn’t receive in childhood, sometimes finding glimpses of it in romantic relationships, but ultimately learning to give ourselves the inner loving mother and father we lacked.

Lila also speaks candidly about the shame and fear that accompanied her early experiences of pleasure- feelings shaped by religious messaging and a lack of privacy.

Growing up in a predominantly white Portuguese community, she faced internal conflict around identity. Her story of reclaiming and celebrating her African roots, both physically and spiritually, is a moving and important message for any young person of mixed race struggling with visibility and belonging. Her journey toward self-acceptance stands as a powerful reminder that true belonging begins within.