Full disclosure: this episode almost didn’t make it to you. After our conversation, I got one of those dreaded warning signs that my guest’s audio cut off midway through our chat, leaving me with an amputated file and a pit in my stomach. Ana’s a sweetheart and agreed to another call a few days later, but we were both gutted because we knew it would be impossible to recreate the goose-bumpy magic of our original conversation.
So yes, we did record a backup episode (thank you, Ana, for your generous time!). But right before sending everything off to my editor… I discovered that the original audio—the one you’re about to hear—was actually fine all along. I have no idea what happened. Don’t ask. Let’s just thank the podcast gods!
Ana and her movie-star-turned-filmmaker mother, Jagoda Kaloper.
Now, a few words about my guest. Ana Tajder is a Croatian-born journalist, author, and host of the award-winning podcast Thank You, Mama. She started the podcast after the abrupt passing of her beloved mother, the celebrated Yugoslav actress and visual artist Jagoda Kaloper. Grief-stricken, she craved a project that would help her remember and honor her mother’s wisdom while excavating the life lessons passed along the motherline, globally. Five years later, she’s interviewed over 170 women from nearly 80 countries about the lessons they learned from their mothers, amassing incredible insights into the unique mother-daughter knowledge share. What’s said, what’s silenced, and why?
I interviewed her because I wanted to know: after all these conversations, what had she learned not just about our mothers, but about us? What happens in a woman’s life at midlife, when old roles start to fall away, and a different kind of becoming begins? What does it mean to step into our full selves—creatively, emotionally, even spiritually—at a time when culture tells us we’re meant to be winding down? And boy did she deliver!!
Ana keeps a photo on her desk of the “white widows,” the women from Zladin, the matriarchal Croatian island her family comes from.
Not only that, Ana’s own story is pretty fascinating. She was raised by a fiercely creative, glamorous, and independent mother. And she also carries the untold story of her matriarchal lineage from a Croatian island ruled by “white widows”—badass women who held their communities together when the men left. They raised families, repaired homes, fished, rowed boats, and ran the village—leaving Ana with a deep-rooted belief in female strength and self-reliance that threads through everything she does.
In this episode, we talk about:
What actually gets passed down from mother to daughter, and what often gets left out
The danger of over-functioning, independence, and love-as-self-sacrifice
The creative awakening that often hits at midlife (and what happens when we silence it)
How women mother each other through friendship, storytelling, and witnessing
And Ana’s powerful realization that women across cultures are living out a kind of universal, archetypal life story, one with distinct phases we’re only just beginning to name
This isn’t a soft-focus tribute to motherly wisdom. It’s a deep, honest dive into what women inherit, what we’re here to heal, and how empowering it can be to recognize (and embrace!) the many phases of our lives. Not just individually, but as part of a universal sisterhood we’ve never been taught to name.
Enjoy!!
Zeva
PS. As always, you can listen to the episode on the above browser or on anyone of your preferred podcast players, like Apple, Deezer or Spotify.
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