Hey there, I'm Joanne!
a.k.a MamaSoup
I’ve spent about 20 years serving women as a nurse, doula and Lamaze educator. I also have 4 kids so I know first-hand how lonely and isolating it can be to be a mama. That’s why I created Mamasoup.
Most days you can find me working away in my home office (without a bra on), bopping out to Hip Hop (which I’m WAY to old to listen to, btw- but I just can’t quit it!) and searching my teenagers’ rooms for all the plates and bowls.
I’m mostly known for my love of red wine, spontaneously singing and saying the things that most people are thinking. (And not necessarily in that order!)
The things I am most passionate about in life are my family (I mean, duh.), daily naps, shopping locally and cultivating a judgement-free space where women can lift each other up.
People often refer to me as confident, caring, brave and honest. But to be honest with you right now, I don’t always feel any of those things.
I love serving the world by providing pregnant and postpartum women with a social platform. I’m proud that I’ve created a space that provides information you can trust, and support you can rely on. In my opinion, moms are the backbone of communities because they are (literally) raising the future. No pressure, right?
I love to help women connect to each other. It lights my fire to watch the inspiration and support unfold on Mamasoup, and that’s why I created this innovative way for women to have real and honest conversations about being moms; not just a bunch of staged photos.
My Mamasoup tribe is real, raw, funny and totally into lifting each other up! It’s so cool to watch women bonding over serious things like infertility struggles and not-so-serious things like what to watch on Netflix.
I’m incredibly lucky to inspire women to support and learn from each other. As the founder of Mamasoup, I’ve been featured on Global Television, KawarthaNOW, Economic Development- The City of Kawartha Lakes, MyKawartha and the Peterborough Examiner.
When I’m not busy building women up, you can catch me on Instagram posting stories of my bulldog Ruby, watching The Handmaid’s Tale, wondering where all our cutlery went, playing MÜber (Mom Über) to my kids or vacationing in my favourite town: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. (Seriously, we love that place so much we named our rescue cat Cabo!)
If you’re dying to hear more, here are 5 things you may not know about me:
- I met the love of my life, my hunka-husband, on an online dating site 19 years ago.
- I was married, divorced and a single mom with 2 kids living on welfare by the age of 23.
- Before I became a nurse, I was a franchise recruiter for “A Buck or Two!”
- I grew up on a farm. I’ve been known to herd cattle off of the road with a minivan, while slapping a pair of running shoes. (My husband, a city boy, swears that was the moment he truly fell in love with me!)
- I left my nursing career about 3 years ago after I was sexually assaulted by a patient, which sucked. But it inspired me to act on my dream to create a place for women to connect online to support each other - Lemons, meet lemonade!