One Tired Mother

I don't mean to be dramatic, but I could cry.

Amber Adrian — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:18:32 GMT

Thanks for still being here as I wade through a season of less frequent writing. I appreciate it so much!

-Amber

There are other things I should be doing right now in…

Coming home #13

Amber Adrian — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 16:06:01 GMT

Hello! This is an installment of a monthly column I write for our diocese on the things that drew me to Catholicism. My conversion came after years of searching for a spiritual place to land that fel…

If we want more babies, we need better births

Amber Adrian — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 15:16:42 GMT

Hello from the trenches of summer mothering! I’m getting ready to begin school preparation next week, but I’m here to share an article I wrote that’s live today.

Photo by Matteo Vistocco on Unsplash

I…

Coming home #12

Amber Adrian — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 23:43:48 GMT

What we've learned in a decade of parenting

Amber Adrian — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 19:24:51 GMT

Hello, I’m Amber—English teacher, writer, mom to three girls. One Tired Mother is a place for me to share my thoughts on motherhood that challenge both the secular feminist paradigm and the rigid Chr…

Coming home #11

Amber Adrian — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 16:12:59 GMT

Hello! If you’re a regular reader here, you know I share this monthly column I write for our diocese on the things that drew me to Catholicism. This came after years of searching for a spiritual plac…

Why is motherhood not allowed to be celebrated?

Amber Adrian — Fri, 08 May 2026 19:52:57 GMT

Photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash

How are we doing out there, moms??

I’ll speak for myself: I get pretty crabby this time of the year. It’s not just Maycember (IYKYK); it’s the approach of Mother’s …

Coming home #10

Amber Adrian — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 02:53:28 GMT

It was many years of exploration before I became a Christian, and after much searching for a truly resonant place to land within Christianity, I became Catholic in 2023. I write a small monthly colum…

Where is feminism on birth?

Amber Adrian — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 01:00:27 GMT

Photo by Cameorn Steele on Unsplash

Hello from the trenches of teaching and mothering!

I haven’t been present here on Substack much, but in the background I’ve been working on an essay I’ve wanted to …

Coming home #9

Amber Adrian — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 03:26:32 GMT

Feminine or feminist?

Amber Adrian — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 20:51:41 GMT

Hi, I’m Amber—English teacher, writer, wife + mom to three girls. One Tired Mother is a place for me to share my thoughts on motherhood that often challenge both the liberal feminist paradigm and the conservative Christian one. If you’re new here, I’d love to have you as a conversation partner! If you’re already a regular reader, thank you for reading the words I write! I don’t take your time for granted.

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Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash

Last week I gave a talk locally on the topic of womanhood. You know, just something light and totally non-controversial!

It was called Feminist or Feminine? What the Church Really Teaches About Women. Provocative either/or title was on purpose, of course. If you’ve read my writing for any length of time you can probably predict that I challenged the mainstream conceptions of both of those words.

I was nervous about making everyone angry—not feminist enough for some but too feminist for others—but it all turned out well. And it was so fun!

The talk was for Theology on Tap, a national program held in Catholic communities (but open to all!) and basically consisting of a bunch of people gathered in a bar, a speaker on a particular topic, and discussion after. My priest knows about my writing (and my many opinions, lol) and asked me a while ago if I’d be willing to speak on for ToT. We didn’t get anything scheduled and then I wasn’t formally asked for a while, and as month after month went by, my overthinking went into effect: maybe he read something on my Substack he didn’t like? Maybe I’m not quite disavowing of the word “feminism” enough? (Always a worry in faith communities, where an aversion to the word is common.)

Alas, that didn’t seem to be the case. We got it scheduled, and, despite my insane life with returning to teaching (and it being Catholic Schools Week LOLLOL; iykyk), I pulled it off.

The audience was diverse. One woman I spoke to before it started said “I don’t agree with the Church’s teachings on women. I just can’t get behind the fact that they won’t ordain women.” Several men very involved in the parish came alone, men who I know are Very Opinionated and I was pretty sure were there to police me. There were people of all ages, men and women alike (though more women).

All went well! I wish I’d have been a bit more polished, but I’m proud of the talk. I wrote it from scratch, drawing from my work here on Substack as well as others’ work that has impacted my thinking on womanhood over the years. I quoted JPII (extensively) and Edith Stein, I shared the work of and . I brought their books, as well as those of and and and and and as resources for further exploration. I mentioned the work of Carrie Gress with both grace and honesty.

It was a fun challenge to try to speak with nuance on womanhood, motherhood, and feminism in a 30-minute talk. (And I didn’t succeed totally: the talk was about 45 minutes.) Paid subscribers can find the video below! Thank you so much for your support. If you’d like access to the talk, as well as all my past work, I’d love to have you!

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P.S. There’s one moment from the evening that stands out in my mind that I just have to tell you about. It was highly ironic considering the topic of the talk…

Coming home #8

Amber Adrian — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 01:08:18 GMT

It was many years of exploration before I became a Christian, and then, after much searching for a truly resonant place to land within Christianity, I became Catholic in 2023. I write a small monthly…

One Tired Mother in 2025

Amber Adrian — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 19:20:07 GMT

Even though I’ve never identified with labels much, it’s weird to say I’m not a homeschooling mother or full-time caregiving mother anymore, as so many of these posts do. (ICYMI, I’m back to classroo…

A unity of place

Amber Adrian — Sat, 20 Dec 2025 16:43:47 GMT

Photo by Samantha Borges on Unsplash

I see you—do you see me? / Up here on your laptop screen / It’s just like I’m here with you / Tell me friend, what’s new?

-the sing-songy toy laptop I bought my kid…

How to be a mother-writer

Amber Adrian — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 22:10:57 GMT

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

Have an English degree and a love for words/ideas/grammar and thus some sort of confidence in this arena.
Leave teaching, because you’re totally and completely burned …

How to take up space as a mother

Amber Adrian — Sat, 08 Nov 2025 21:53:26 GMT

I have opinions about Halloween

Amber Adrian — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 20:01:15 GMT

The most important parenting strategy

Amber Adrian — Sun, 12 Oct 2025 02:40:53 GMT

Hello! This is a post from the One Tired Mother archives, lightly edited. I feel this really matters, and I’d love to hear how it lands for you and/or what questions you have. A reminder, too, that I…

Coming home #7

Amber Adrian — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 19:50:49 GMT

Coming home #6

Amber Adrian — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 02:50:15 GMT

It was many years of exploration before I became a Christian, and I converted to Catholicism in 2023 after much searching for a truly resonant place to land within Christianity. I write a small month…