Hello Mother, Hello Daughter

It's the Season 2 finale! Host Dr. Allison Alford joins mother-daughter duo Leah & Dr. Mildred Boveda to explore the role of daughtering through the lens of youth activism and Critical Race Theory, rooted in Black Feminism. Allison's Google Alerts serendipitously connected her to the Bovedas; ahh the beauty of the research community!

Leah, a student at Brown University, reflects on her previous experiences as a youth activist in critical race debates after moving from FL to AZ, and how this culture shift impacted her adolescence. Leah tells her story, describing how she daughtered non-familial...

Tales from the Bridal Salon. A Discussion with Emily Lappi

Whose wedding is it anyway? When it comes to a bride’s big day, choosing a wedding
dress is anything but simple — especially while navigating the complex
mother-daughter relationship.

In this week’s episode, we hear from Emily Lappi, a bridal consultant, actor, former podcast host, and friend of Dr. Michelle Miller-Day.  With over eight years of experience styling brides, Emily has truly seen it all, sharing numerous stories that highlight topics such as body image, menstruation, and parental health...

Featuring an open discussion between our host, Dr. Allison Alford, and family
communication expert, Dr. Sandra Faulkner, this episode explores the many ways that
we “do family,” the experiences of adult daughters throughout the COVID-19
pandemic, and leaning into creativity as a means of processing.

Dr. Sandra Faulkner shares her experiences as a professor (Bowling Green State University), encouraging students to employ creative practices when applying theory to better understand their lives. Such art based research is evident in her article “Buttered Nostalgia,”  where Sandra describes using cooking to explore instances of everyday caregiving, acts of d...

This week’s episode features a discussion on narcissistic mothers with Dr. Karyl McBride, a licensed marriage and family therapist, consultant, expert witness, and author. Note for listeners: this episode is not a substitute for professional treatment, but rather an open and knowledge-based conversation.

When describing adult mother-daughter relationships, Michelle explains that
daughters who lack mothering often grieve an idealistic form of their relationship. This can especially be true for daughters with narcissistic mothers. These mothers' lack of empathy can be seen through entitlement, exploitation, and constant disapproval.

Dr. McBride notes the term narcissism is...

Resourcing your relationship: Daughtering from a place of provision A discussion w/ Kat Foster 

The wait is finally over! What better way to launch season 2 of Hello Mother, Hello Daughter than by having Kat Foster on the podcast? Kat Foster (@iamkatfoster) is a profoundly versatile, classically-trained actor known for her leading roles in a wide range of film, television, and theater productions. Her recent creative endeavor, a short film, connected Kat to Allison and Michelle’s work through the term daughtering. 

In their discussion, Kat describes the role and behaviors associated with...

Podcast: Hello Mother, Hello Daughter
Hosts: Drs. Allison Alford and Michelle Miller-Day
Date: 12/20/22
Title: “Why adding "Daughtering’" to our language is important”

About:

In this episode, Allison discusses daughtering as an identity and a role.  Identities are the ways we think of and label ourselves. Roles, on the other hand, are ways of behaving in a given set of circumstances. 

Borrowed language, can be problematic. Using the wrong word for an activity can diminish the importance of the behavior, or make...

Podcast: Hello Mother, Hello Daughter
Hosts: Drs. Allison Alford and Michelle Miller-Day
Date: 11/06/22
Title: Family secrets: Why we tell them and what that means 

Hosts, Drs. Michelle-Miller Day and Allison Alford discuss disclosure, family secrets, and the impact on the family. Allison shares a story about a daughter dealing with the fallout of her father’s financial secret. Michelle shares a personal story about a big family secret that she discovered a few years back. First, we learn about disclosure. Self-disclosure occurs when you share something pri...

Podcast: Hello Mother, Hello Daughter
Hosts: Drs. Allison Alford and Michelle Miller-Day
Date: 10/23/22

Title: “Cherry Lane”: A conversation about maintaining connection in the mother-daughter relationship

Hosts, Drs. Michelle-Miller Day and Allison Alford discuss the adult mother-daughter relationship and the ways healthy relationships maintain emotional connection despite leading individual lives. Should we fully connect? Fully disconnect? What’s the best way to build connection between mothers and daughters? 

Podcast: Hello Mother, Hello Daughter
Hosts: Drs. Allison Alford and Michelle Miller-Day
Date: 10/09/22
Title: “Memorable Moments & Turning Points”

Hosts, Drs. Michelle-Miller Day and Allison Alford discuss the adult mother-daughter relationship and what happens in these relationships over a lifespan. Today’s discussion is about Memorable Moments and Turning Points. First, Allison shares a story about her childhood and the movie Steel Magnolias (are you a M’Lynn or a Ouiser?!). Next, Michelle tells us about her childhood and the ways she first learned that events can create better closeness or distance...