🌀 Talk Description

In this spiral Samara Hawthorn and Nicola Thompson will open a tender and expansive conversation about Becoming a Grandmother : a profound rite of passage that deepens our understanding of love, legacy, and belonging.

For Samara, grandmotherhood marked an initiation into elderhood: a call to tend to the well-being of future generations and to walk the earth with far-sighted care. For Nicola, being present at the births of her grandchildren has deepened her reverence for motherhood, the cycles of life, and the simple, enduring ways grandmothers shape families. Together, they will weave stories, wisdom, and reflection on how this threshold awakens a multigenerational vision, guiding us to become good ancestors for those yet to come.

Participants are invited to share their own experiences and relationships with grandmothers, grandmothering, and the intergenerational continuum of love.

👤 Speaker Bios

Samara Hawthorn is a grandmother, elder, and traditional birthkeeper who has spent close to three decades living in deep communion with the land. As the founder of WellMama CIC, she has dedicated 25 years to supporting women and families through pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenthood. Rooted in ancestral wisdom, her work weaves land tending, herbal lore, lay midwifery, and rites of passage to support women through the seasons of womanhood. With experience across three continents, Samara embraces cultural diversity and the remembrance of traditions that nurture well-being, reciprocity, and belonging.
 

Website: wellmamaworld.com

Nicola Thompson is a mother and grandmother who has worked with mothers and babies for over four decades — first as a nurse in labour, birth, and postpartum care, and now as a doula, birth guardian, and lactation consultant. Originally from Wales, she spent many years nursing in the USA and now lives in Paris, supporting women and families seeking gentle alternatives to the medical birth model. Nicola divides her time between France and Ireland to be close to her children and grandchildren, embodying the continuum of care across generations.

 Website: doulacareparis.com
Instagram: @doulacareparis