In this episode, Kimberly dives deep into guest author Catherine Simone Gray's book Proud Flesh: A Memoir of Motherhood, Intimate Violence, and Reclaiming Pleasure. With tenderness, Kimberly and Catherine share their mutual appreciation for each other’s writing and the deep impact Kimberly’s work has had on the journey that led to Catherine’s book. Catherine guides us through her journey of healing from a vaginal tear postpartum, which led to the discovery of proud flesh, a term for hypergranulation tissue. She describes the emotional and physical challenges she faced across two births (one hospital/C-Section, one home/natural), including silver nitrate treatments and the support of her husband; recounting the story of how the couple’s relationships to one another’s bodies changed when she invited him to draw her vulva daily. Catherine and Kimberly both emphasize the importance of language and writing in redefining sexuality and eroticism, and how this process can support women in reconnecting with their body. If you enjoyed this conversation be sure to sign up for their online gathering Writing as a Pathway to Pleasure on Sunday, February 23rd at https://kimberlyannjohnson.com/writing-pathway-to-pleasure/

Bio

Catherine Gray is the writer and creator of Unsilenced Woman, a blog where she explores modern motherhood, sexuality, and healing after trauma. Catherine’s writings have captivated audiences globally of up to 2.5 million, and she’s devoted almost a decade to helping writers mine the stories of their lives for self-knowledge and growth.

Her writings have been featured by respected organizations for new mothers, such as La Leche League USA, International Cesarean Awareness Network, and ImprovingBirth. She has been a guest on The Birth Hour, the #1 podcast in iTunes Kids & Family, and her essays have been acclaimed by The Bitter Southerner in its Top 10 reader favorites for two consecutive years. A charismatic speaker, Catherine has delivered two addresses at the Mississippi Women’s March. Her first memoir Proud Flesh: A Memoir of Motherhood, Intimate Violence, and Reclaiming Pleasur was published in 2025 by Penguin Random House.Today, Catherine lives happily (and mostly healed) in Jackson, Mississippi, with her husband and their two young sons.

What You’ll Hear

• Kimberly’s deep appreciation for the writing craft found in Catherine’s book and is moved by the way their work has intersected

• Catherine has been a Jaguar since 2017 and shares the way many baths listening, reading and sitting with Kimberly’s work influenced Proud Flesh

• Catherine recalls key moments with her doctor in making a healing plan for a natural birth injury

• Catherine describes how the scientific term Proud Flesh took on poetic meaning in her life

• Catherine discusses the difference in healing from the numbing disconnect of C-Section to the embodied pain of a natural birth.

• Catherine describes a profound confrontation with how her and her husband relate to each other’s bodies, which led to a durational art project in which he drew her vulva over time.

• Catherine and Kimberly reflect on erotic writing that doesn’t reify centering the male gaze

• Kimberly and Catherine talk about their own evolving relationships to their bodies and the craft of writing

Links

IG - @unsilencedwoman

Website - www.unsilencedwoman.com

Book - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/771427/proud-flesh-by-catherine-simone-gray/

Online Gathering - https://kimberlyannjohnson

In this episode, Kimberly and Pānquetzani discuss her new book Thriving Postpartum: Embracing the Indigenous Wisdom of La Cuarentena and the thirteen year process of navigating that creative act. Pānquetzani reflects on the ways her relationships with partners and her four children have impacted the journey of making a business and writing a book. Pānquetzani’s writing is inextricably linked directly to the work she has done in and for her community around postpartum care, as well as the lessons she learned around mental health and partner agreements along the way. A deep meditation on personal healing and learning how to make and hold boundaries. The episode lovingly asks: how do you listen to your intuition, your womb, and your baby?

Bio

Pānquetzani comes from a matriarchal family of folk healers from the valley of Mexico (Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlaxcala), La Comarca Lagunera (Durango and Coahuila), and Zacatecas. As a traditional herbalist, healer, and birthkeeper, Pānquetzani has touched over 3,000 wombs and bellies. Through her platform, Indigemama: Ancestral Healing, she has taught over 100 live, in-person intensives and trainings on womb wellness. She lives in California.

What you’ll hear:

• The 13 year journey of writing a book

• Differences in how men and women are treated in public as new parents

• Liberation of separation and divorce

• The challenge of holding boundaries with mothers-in-law

• Creating a culture of community care in a colonial context

• How to navigate who you want in your cuarentena?

• How to work with narcissism and boundaries?

• Listen to your womb, listen to your intuition, ask your baby: what do you need?

• Pain and martyrdom’s role in parenting

• Respect is connected to access in a relationship

• A birth story that led to parent/child healing

• How to be in communication with your womb

Resources

Website: https://indigemama.com/

IG: @indigemama

Book: Thriving Postpartum at Sounds True

Kimberly and Mirabai Starr engage in a rich and intimate exploration of mysticism, personal loss, spirituality, and the intersection of sexuality and the sacred. They consider how they have each found spirituality in their everyday lives while being mindful of their journeys, cultures, ancestry, and the complexities involved. They discuss Mirabai's new book, "Ordinary Mysticism," which delves into the nature of mysticism and its accessibility to everyone every day. Mirabai emphasizes that mysticism doesn't require institutionalized religion and can be found in ordinary moments. They discuss the profound impact of loss and grief in Mirabai’s life. She describes how these experiences deepened her connection to the sacred and the beauty intertwined with suffering.

Bio

Mirabai Starr is an award winning author of creative nonfiction and contemporary translations of sacred literature. She taught philosophy and world religions at the University of New Mexico, Taos for 20 years, and now teaches and speaks internationally on contemplative practice and inter-spiritual dialog. A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss. She has written over 15 books, and the latest is “Ordinary Mysticism.” But you'll hear her talk about “Caravan of No Despair,” “Wild Mercy,” and some of her translations from Spanish to English, “In The Mystics,” “The Great Mystics.” She lives with her extended family in the mountains of northern New Mexico.

What you’ll hear:

• Mirabai's views on spiritual, literary and poetic writing.

• The origin story of her new book "Ordinary Mysticism" - including it’s connection to Anne Lamott

• The ease in finding the mystical if you are open to it.

• The challenges of having that openness in the everyday

• The intersections of grief and the sacred

• Cultivating mystical awareness in daily life

• Searching for spiritual grounding

• Uprootedness of being spiritual but not religious

• How to understand your relationship to different spiritual technologies

• How to tap into spiritual bounty without colonizing and appropriating

• Intention and attention are crucial for recognizing the sacred in the mundane.

• The integration of sexuality and spirituality

• The common split many women feel between the sexual and the sacred aspects of their lives. How healing from/through sexual abuse can lead to sacredness in intimacy

• What’s a responsible and mindful approach to drawing from various spiritual traditions?

• How does storytelling and reflecting on shared struggles lead to insights within the spiritual journey?

• And how ending an abusive sexual and spiritual relationship can lead to healing through new forms of intimacy.

• Healthy intimacy can be holy

Resources
https://mirabaistarr.com/