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June 4, 2025 62 mins

“I had two beautiful kids, a career, a home… but inside, I was crying.”

In this week’s episode of The Woman UP! Podcast, Cindy Smiley gets honest about what it’s really like to lose yourself after motherhood and the messy, beautiful process of finding your purpose again.

From being a high-achieving teacher to stepping into motherhood and suddenly questioning who she even was, Cindy shares how turning 40 sparked a wave of reflection, grief, and growth. We talk about identity loss, cultural expectations, trauma from childhood, and the invisible pressure to “do it all” perfectly.

Whether you’re a mum, a woman in transition, or someone silently craving more from life—this episode is a powerful reminder that it’s okay to want more.

🎙️ We cover:

  • What no one talks about after you leave your career
  • The guilt of wanting more as a mother
  • How childhood trauma shaped her ambition
  • Identity shifts at 40 and beyond
  • Releasing perfectionism and people-pleasing
  • Why starting again doesn’t mean you failed
  • The healing power of speaking your truth


You are not broken. You’re evolving. And you’re not alone.

💌 Connect with us: 

Woman UP! → ⁠@womanup.ig⁠ 

Martha Lucia → ⁠@iammarthalucia⁠ 

Cindy Smiley → ⁠@cinsjourney 

📥 Join our email list → ⁠womanupupdates.carrd.co⁠

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