About This Episode
Dr. Kate Sorokas holds a PhD in health education and is a writer, speaker, and advocate for maternal mental health. Her debut novel, Through Her Eyes, is a thriller inspired by her real-life struggle with new motherhood — a story she literally dreamed up during her first nap after having her sons.
Kate talks with Mike about postpartum depression, telling her story as fiction so readers could find empathy without defensiveness, cutting 40,000 words after her editor called the first draft "depressing," the Celtic goddess Brigid and a fire ceremony in Ireland, and why the world needs to see motherhood as bigger than swaddles and self-care.
Key Takeaways
- She dreamed the book — literally. At a mothers' retreat in North Carolina, Kate woke from a vivid dream and told a friend she wanted to read that book. Her friend said: "Maybe you're supposed to write it."
- Fiction builds empathy in ways memoir can't. When Kate shared her own struggles, people responded with "you chose this." Wrapping her story in fiction gave readers permission to connect without defensiveness.
- The first draft was for her. She cut 40,000 words, added 35,000 new ones, and created an entire best-friend character to shift the book from one woman's sad tale to a story about community.
- No one noticed she wasn't okay. Kate's doctors didn't catch it. Her partner didn't fully see it. As an eldest daughter raised to be responsible and successful, she didn't know what she was feeling wasn't normal.
- Bridget brought the magic. The Celtic goddess is a thread throughout the novel. Kate traveled to Kildare, Ireland, and participated in a fire ceremony at Bridget's monastery site.
- Querying 75 agents led to independent publishing. Kate partnered with Renard McGilland for self-publishing while handling all promotion herself.
- The village is the message. Healthy mothers need more than spa days and wine nights — they need community and people who ask direct questions rather than offering platitudes.
- Always choose delight. Kate's advice to her younger self: she's never regretted doing something because it was going to be fun.
