The Motherload | Ryan Shepard | Substack

The Dinner System That Changed My Weeknights (And Ended the 5 p.m. “What’s for Dinner?” Panic)

Why dinner feels exhausting for so many moms — and the small shift that made it easier in our house

Mar 4 • Ryan Shepard

The Mental Health Conversation Black Mothers Deserve

On anxiety, OCD, health anxiety, alcohol, medication, motherhood, cancer, and why healing should come with more options, more honesty, and less shame.

Jun 12 • Ryan Shepard

3:26

I Owe You a Drink

The sweet tea mint julep recipe, the video, and a little note for my paid subscribers.

Jun 10 • Ryan Shepard

Summer Break Is a Scam for Mothers

On the pressure to make every day magical, the myth of the “90s mom summer,” and the low-lift ways I’m making it through.

Jun 5 • Ryan Shepard

Maycember Is Trying to Kill Us, So Dinner Is Free This Week

The full Motherload dinner plan is free this week, because Maycember is a lawless hellscape and we deserve real food.

May 29 • Ryan Shepard

Recent posts

The Loneliness Epidemic No One Wants to Talk About: Modern Motherhood

For every mom who has ever been needed by everyone and still wondered who was taking care of her.

May 22 • Ryan Shepard

I Didn’t Inherit the Village. So I Built One.

Hosting Sunday dinners at my house has become my anchoring ritual of the week.

May 15 • Ryan Shepard

The Best Sex of My Life Started When I Stopped Mothering My Husband

I stopped enduring my marriage, stopped mothering my husband, and somehow desire found me again.

May 8 • Ryan Shepard

Motherhood Makes You Disappear. Women Bring You Back.

After eight days in London, one marathon, and a mile 21 scream-cry support crew, I keep thinking about how much mothers need to be loved as women, not…

May 1 • Ryan Shepard

We Weren’t Meant to Cook One Meal at a Time

What I learned about food, money, and survival from the women who always had enough.

Apr 17 • Ryan Shepard