The Reason You Don’t Feel Like You Matter with Jennifer Breheny Wallace
Tue Jan 27 2026
Jennifer Breheny Wallace – NYT bestselling author of Never Enough and her new book Mattering (out today!), journalist, and Mother of three – joins The Mothers for a conversation about achievement, worth, identity, and what it really means to feel like you matter.
Jennifer’s work explores a question many Mothers carry: how can we be doing essential, important, and meaningful work – at home, at the office, and beyond – and still feel like it’s not enough? Like we’re not enough? And sometimes… like we don’t even matter? In this conversation, we look at how motherhood exposes the limits of achievement culture – and why relying on success to supply a sense of mattering can leave us feeling empty instead.
Other highlights:
Building an “accordion” career – expanding and contracting across seasons of motherhood
The difference between shiny success and sustaining success
Why achievement is a poor stand-in for self-worth
How friendships function as essential infrastructure, not a luxury
What it looks like to live in alignment with intrinsic values in an extrinsic world
This is a grounded, generous conversation about choosing values over validation and designing a life that can flex, evolve, and endure.
Pick up Mattering today at https://a.co/d/axcH4mn
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Learn more about Sage Haus, helping busy households hire vetted, professional House Managers, Family Assistants, and Meal Prep Chefs – whether you need 10 hours a week or 40+
👉 Are you ready to hire a house manager? at https://sagehaus.com/quiz-readiness
👉 Get started at https://themothers--sage-haus.thrivecart.com/hiring-services-deposit/
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⭐️ Follow the The Mothers and leave a 5-star review if this resonated
💬 Share this episode with someone who needs to hear it
📱 Join The Mothers on Instagram @themotherspod
💼 Find Sara on LinkedIn for more perspectives on work, life, and meaning
✍️ Subscribe to Sara’s Substack (coming soon!)
The Mothers is a production of Backline Media.
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Jennifer Breheny Wallace – NYT bestselling author of Never Enough and her new book Mattering (out today!), journalist, and Mother of three – joins The Mothers for a conversation about achievement, worth, identity, and what it really means to feel like you matter. Jennifer’s work explores a question many Mothers carry: how can we be doing essential, important, and meaningful work – at home, at the office, and beyond – and still feel like it’s not enough? Like we’re not enough? And sometimes… like we don’t even matter? In this conversation, we look at how motherhood exposes the limits of achievement culture – and why relying on success to supply a sense of mattering can leave us feeling empty instead. Other highlights: Building an “accordion” career – expanding and contracting across seasons of motherhood The difference between shiny success and sustaining success Why achievement is a poor stand-in for self-worth How friendships function as essential infrastructure, not a luxury What it looks like to live in alignment with intrinsic values in an extrinsic world This is a grounded, generous conversation about choosing values over validation and designing a life that can flex, evolve, and endure. Pick up Mattering today at https://a.co/d/axcH4mn ****** Learn more about Sage Haus, helping busy households hire vetted, professional House Managers, Family Assistants, and Meal Prep Chefs – whether you need 10 hours a week or 40+ 👉 Are you ready to hire a house manager? at https://sagehaus.com/quiz-readiness 👉 Get started at https://themothers--sage-haus.thrivecart.com/hiring-services-deposit/ ******* ⭐️ Follow the The Mothers and leave a 5-star review if this resonated 💬 Share this episode with someone who needs to hear it 📱 Join The Mothers on Instagram @themotherspod 💼 Find Sara on LinkedIn for more perspectives on work, life, and meaning ✍️ Subscribe to Sara’s Substack (coming soon!) The Mothers is a production of Backline Media.