About “Mojo Mom” Amy Tiemann, Ph. D.

Author of the young adult novel High Water and the award-winning book Mojo Mom: Nurturing Your Self While Raising a Family, Center Director for Kidpower North Carolina.

Amy Tiemann I have always created my own path in life. After earning my doctorate in Neurosciences from Stanford University, I left "Big Science" for high school teaching, a career that was more demanding than I ever could have imagined, but incredibly rewarding. Neither of these jobs prepared me very well for the challenge of becoming the mother of a new baby. I went from teaching five classes and having hundreds of interactions a day to being home alone with my daughter for long stretches. The saying, "the days are long, but the years are short" best describes my entry into motherhood. Now that my daughter has reached school age, it seems like time has flown by, but during the early months and years of motherhood, I faced a major adjustment in my identity, as well as a reshaping of my career path as an author and entrepreneur.

After emerging from the cocoon of the early months of motherhood, I began to wonder "Who am I, now that I am a Mom?'' I had stepped off my career path as a scientist and educator. No one called me "Dr. T." anymore. "Mom" describes the most personal relationship, but it can feel like the most anonymous label.

I began the process of getting my Mojo back, though I didn't have a name for it yet. Reviving my creativity and finding causes I believed in was key. I took creative-writing classes, finished writing my long-dormant young adult novel, and even penned a screenplay.

During my daughter's third year, I realized that I had come a long way on the challenging journey from my old concept of my Self, to a nearly-blank slate wiped clean by motherhood, to a life that has been rebuilt to include time and space for both my family and myself as an individual. It has been an amazing process, with challenges and opportunities that take many women by surprise. I came up with the concept of "Mommy Mojo" to describe the intangible feeling of having a component of one's identity that is separate from being a mother, and the process of including the needs for individuality as a legitimate family priority. The collected wisdom I've gathered from interviews, research, and personal insight forms the basis for my book, Mojo Mom: Nurturing Your Self While Raising a Family.

My work as Mojo Mom has expanded to include my blog, podcast, and the Mojo Mom Party Kit. It has also led to the formation of a real-life Mojo Advisory Circle of ten women who meet monthly for business networking and personal support. The next edition of the Mojo Mom Party Kit, coming in Spring 2009, will teach you how to start your own Mojo Circle.

As Mojo Mom, I have connected with the universal needs of mothers, and I have investigated the factors that help women make their way along their lifelong career paths. Both working mothers’ groups and stay-at-home Moms have claimed me as “one of their own.” In addition to my bookstore appearances, I have spoken to a wide variety of audiences including:

Mothers & More
MomsRising.org
Mothers of Multiples
Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS)
San Luis Coastal Adult School, San Luis Obispo CA
Santa Cruz Moms
Tokyo-American Club in Japan
Association for Research in Motherhood Conference, York University, Toronto
University of North Carolina Breastfeeding and Feminism Conference
UNC Family Medicine – child safety and abuse-prevention training for physicians
Brown University reunion
Women’s Media Center
Cisco working mothers’ group
Red Hat working mothers’ group
Carolina Parent Women @ Work Breakfast
Duke and UNC Business Schools’ joint Women and Entrepreneurship Conference
Maternity store appearances including Isis Maternity and Belly Blossom
Women’s Wine and Dine, Maryland, benefiting Women for Women International
Girls Night In “Shop for a Cause” event at Nordstrom, benefiting Girls on the Run
Weekend-long Mojo Mom Retreat

My notable national media appearances include The Today Show, the CBS Early Show, and NBC News. You can find clips in my online Media Kit.

I would love to speak to your group! Send email to info at mojomom dot com to propose a speaking engagement.