What does it cost a man to grow up believing that strength means suppressing what he feels?

In this episode of Mama Never Told Me, Erica talks with Eric “Mr. E” about the lessons he wishes someone had taught him about manhood, emotions, relationships, marriage, and fatherhood.

Eric traces his understanding of masculinity back to childhood. Raised by a single mother during his early years, he later had a stepfather he admits he wasn't ready to listen to. Instead, some of his ideas about being a man came from the streets and images of men as aggressive, tough, and emotionally closed off.

Those ideas followed him into adulthood. Eric discusses falling in with the wrong crowd, incarceration, losing his mother, and how studying helped change the direction of his thinking and his life. He also reflects on intimacy, empathy, marriage, autism, mental health, and the difficult work of recognizing patterns without using them as excuses.

Today, as a single father raising two sons, Eric is trying to give his children something different: the tools to understand emotions before emotions control their decisions. He talks about teaching his sons openly about relationships, sex, women's bodies, intimacy, accountability, fidelity, and the responsibilities that come with adulthood.

At the center of Erica and Eric's conversation is a simple but consequential idea: emotions aren't weakness. Fear, sadness, anger, love, and empathy all carry information—but we have to learn what to do with them.

It's a conversation about what Eric wasn't taught, what experience taught him instead, and what he's determined to pass on differently to his sons.

Who sees the brilliance in a child when behavior, circumstance or the system gets noticed first?

In this episode of Mama Never Told Me, Erica talks with Aarolyn J. Casillas about what it means to advocate for children who cannot always advocate for themselves.

Aarolyn brings experience in child and family advocacy, education and CASA/GAL work, alongside doctoral research focused on the experiences surrounding gifted and talented minority boys. Her work raises an important question: What happens when a child's potential is present, but the adults and systems around that child don't recognize it?

The sisters move between the professional and deeply personal—discussing CASA advocacy, CPS and the courts, parental responsibility, gifted education, military families, representation, health challenges, stress and the emotional weight carried by people who spend their lives caring for others.

Aarolyn also explains why advocating for a child doesn't mean automatically choosing one side. It means looking at the whole situation, listening to the child's lived experience when possible, considering the evidence and continuing to ask what is truly in that child's best interest.

And beneath the policy is a much simpler principle:

Children deserve to be seen for their potential and brilliance—not reduced to their circumstances.

This is a conversation about the children who can disappear between policies, classrooms, courtrooms and assumptions—and the people willing to keep looking out for them.

Mama Never Told Me — for the things we were never told, but always felt.

Take a breath with me.

Today we’re naming the bravery it takes to let your calling grow up alongside you.

Dezaree’ Lusk braided cosmetology, clinical social work, and a fierce love for veterans into Divine Beauty Bar—a place where wigs, healing, and legacy live in the same room. From late-night dorm-room sew-ins to a nationwide “Free Wigs for Veterans” initiative, her story reminds us that purpose can shapeshift without losing its heartbeat.

Inside the episode

• Origin spark: the first pair of shears and a big dream
• When beauty work becomes mental-health advocacy
• Why an MBA felt necessary—then surprising
• Legacy threads that keep the mission steady
• A gentle permission slip for anyone itching to pivot

Hand over heart, notice any spark of “maybe I can evolve too.”

This conversation offers shared experience and reflection, not medical advice. Every body is different.

#ad #mentalhealth #womenswellness

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If *Mama Never Told Me* has been a safe space for you, you can help support the show for just $4.99 a month. Your support helps us continue creating honest conversations for women navigating emotional exhaustion, body changes, relationships, burnout, and the things nobody prepared us for. The support link is available in the show notes and episode description.

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Sometimes depression doesn’t look like falling apart.

Sometimes it looks like showing up anyway.

In this deeply honest episode of *Mama Never Told Me*, Erica opens up a vulnerable conversation about the kind of emotional heaviness women often carry silently. The kind that hides behind responsibilities, caregiving, motherhood, survival mode, and constantly being “fine.”

Joined by close friends Melanie and Sandeep, this conversation explores:

* emotional exhaustion in women

* postpartum depression and hidden sadness

* functioning while emotionally empty

* women’s mental health and burnout

* survival mode and emotional numbness

* caregiving fatigue

* identity loss and emotional overwhelm

* the pressure women feel to stay strong

* invisible depression and quiet suffering

* healing through emotional honesty

This episode is not about fixing women. It is about naming what so many women have been carrying quietly for far too long. Rooted in lived experience and emotional safety, this conversation creates space for women to feel seen, heard, and less alone.

If you’ve ever felt emotionally drained in a way sleep could not fix… this episode is for you.

✨ Subscribe, follow, and leave a review to help more women find these conversations.

🎧 Topics Discussed:

Postpartum depression, women’s emotional health, motherhood exhaustion, mental health awareness, emotional burnout, hidden depression, emotional labor, caregiving stress, women’s identity shifts, survival mode, emotional fatigue, women supporting women, women’s podcast, emotional wellness, self-worth, healing conversations, relationships, women’s empowerment, emotional isolation, anxiety and depression in women.

#MamaNeverToldMe #WomensMentalHealth #PostpartumDepression #EmotionalBurnout #MentalHealthPodcast #WomenSupportingWomen #EmotionalWellness #SelfWorthJourney #CaregiverFatigue #WomenPodcast #HealingConversations #DepressionAwareness #MotherhoodJourney #EmotionalExhaustion #PodcastForWomen

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mama-never-told-me--6837086/support.

Mama Never Told Me is a gentle, honest podcast for women navigating the physical, emotional, and life changes no one prepared us for. Hosted by Errica, this show explores the things we were never told — but always felt — through lived experience, reflection, and real conversation. This podcast is not medical advice or a place for quick fixes. It’s a space for awareness, self-trust, and feeling less alone. 🎧 Listen to all episodes here:

https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mama-never-told-me--6837086 💛 Join the Mama Never Told Me Supporters Group for $4.99/month and receive access to practical, everyday tools, exclusive interviews with trusted professionals, and a private community for women navigating hard seasons with care and honesty. Some things mama never told us.

But we’re allowed to talk about them now.

#ad #affiliateSome links in this description are affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you choose to make a purchase through them, at no additional cost to you.The content shared in this episode is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Statements regarding any products mentioned have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.This space is rooted in personal experience, reflection, and gentle awareness. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your wellness routine, especially if you have existing conditions or are taking medication.Some things mama never told us…

but we’re allowed to talk about them now.In this episode, Erica sits down with her Aunt Addie for a conversation that unfolds in a way many women will recognize. Not rushed. Not perfectly timed. Just honest.They talk through experiences that didn’t always come with explanation. Body changes that weren’t fully understood in the moment. And the kind of wisdom that often arrives later, after you’ve already had to live through it.This is not a conversation about fixing anything.

It’s about recognizing what was always there… and finally having language for it.If you’ve ever found yourself asking,

“Why didn’t I know this sooner?”

you’re not alone.🌿 If this conversation resonated with you, make sure you follow or subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes. This space is here for you, every time you need to come back to it.💬 Share this episode with a woman in your life who might need to hear it. Sometimes one conversation can open something that’s been sitting quietly for a long time.⭐ If you feel led, leave a rating or review. It helps this space reach more women who are looking for the same kind of understanding.🌿 SUPPORTING YOURSELF, GENTLYAs we continue learning how to take care of ourselves in ways we weren’t always taught, small steps can matter.If you’re exploring ways to support your body more intentionally, you can check out Zivolife, a clean, plant-based superfood that supports gut health, energy, and overall wellness.Use code ADX for 20% off.Only sharing what aligns with the journey.🎧 Follow the conversation:Instagram: [Insert Handle]

YouTube: [Insert Link]

Website: [Insert Link]Thank you for being here.You don’t have to figure everything out at once.

You’re allowed to learn yourself… even now.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mama-never-told-me--6837086/support.

Mama Never Told Me is a gentle, honest podcast for women navigating the physical, emotional, and life changes no one prepared us for. Hosted by Errica, this show explores the things we were never told — but always felt — through lived experience, reflection, and real conversation. This podcast is not medical advice or a place for quick fixes. It’s a space for awareness, self-trust, and feeling less alone. 🎧 Listen to all episodes here:

https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mama-never-told-me--6837086 💛 Join the Mama Never Told Me Supporters Group for $4.99/month and receive access to practical, everyday tools, exclusive interviews with trusted professionals, and a private community for women navigating hard seasons with care and honesty. Some things mama never told us.

But we’re allowed to talk about them now.

This episode includes AI-generated content.

What happens when you ask your mother about menopause? For many women, the answer might be surprising. When I sat down with my mom — who is about to turn 79 years old — I asked her what it was like growing up as a woman before anyone explained menopause, emotional burnout, or the quiet ways the body changes with age. Her answer stopped me. She told me: “Nobody never explained nothing to me.” In this episode of Mama Never Told Me, we talk about what it was like for women from an earlier generation navigating their bodies without guidance, open conversations, or reliable information. We discuss: • What menopause looked like before people talked about it

• The emotional and physical changes women experience with age

• Why so many mothers and daughters never had these conversations

• The generational gap in women’s health knowledge

• Why women today must learn to advocate for themselves This episode is a reminder that many of the women who raised us were figuring things out in real time — often without support, education, or open dialogue. And maybe the most important thing we can do now… is start talking. Because some things mama never told us… …but we’re allowed to talk about them now.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mama-never-told-me--6837086/support.

Mama Never Told Me is a gentle, honest podcast for women navigating the physical, emotional, and life changes no one prepared us for. Hosted by Errica, this show explores the things we were never told — but always felt — through lived experience, reflection, and real conversation. This podcast is not medical advice or a place for quick fixes. It’s a space for awareness, self-trust, and feeling less alone. 🎧 Listen to all episodes here:

https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mama-never-told-me--6837086 💛 Join the Mama Never Told Me Supporters Group for $4.99/month and receive access to practical, everyday tools, exclusive interviews with trusted professionals, and a private community for women navigating hard seasons with care and honesty. Some things mama never told us.

But we’re allowed to talk about them now.

This episode includes AI-generated content.

Menopause is supposed to happen to every woman… right? That’s what I thought too. After a year of ER visits, racing heart rates, and doctors telling me “it’s just menopause,” I started asking the women in my own family what their experiences were like. So I sat down with my older sister Tinka. And what she told me completely shocked me. She said menopause was like Bigfoot — something she had heard about… but never really saw. Out of 57 years, she says she can count the number of periods she’s had on one hand and a half. Same bloodline.

Same family.

Two completely different body stories. In this episode we talk about: • The menopause nobody explained to us

• Irregular cycles doctors couldn’t regulate

• Why Black women’s health conversations matter

• What happens when your body doesn’t follow the “normal” rules

• And why we need to start talking about these things earlier Because some things mama never told us… But we’re allowed to talk about them now. Next week, I sit down with the woman who raised both of us — my mama — and what she told me about growing up as a woman explains why so many of us were never prepared for these conversations.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mama-never-told-me--6837086/support.

Mama Never Told Me is a gentle, honest podcast for women navigating the physical, emotional, and life changes no one prepared us for. Hosted by Errica, this show explores the things we were never told — but always felt — through lived experience, reflection, and real conversation. This podcast is not medical advice or a place for quick fixes. It’s a space for awareness, self-trust, and feeling less alone. 🎧 Listen to all episodes here:

https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mama-never-told-me--6837086 💛 Join the Mama Never Told Me Supporters Group for $4.99/month and receive access to practical, everyday tools, exclusive interviews with trusted professionals, and a private community for women navigating hard seasons with care and honesty. Some things mama never told us.

But we’re allowed to talk about them now.

This episode includes AI-generated content.