Episode Details

Why are mothers of only children so often judged for a deeply personal decision—or circumstance—that other people know nothing about?

Chef, author, and entrepreneur Sofya Stearns knows firsthand how assumptions about women, motherhood, infertility, family size, and career can shape the way people are treated.

In this episode of Powerful on Purpose, Sofya joins Leslie Capps to share the unexpected path that took her from pre-med and finance to creating Izabella’s Gourmet Chow, a cooking school that uses food, language, culture, music, and movement to bring people together.

Sofya also shares the personal experiences that inspired her book, The One and Only: By Fate or By Choice. After experiencing judgment about having one child, she interviewed 40 other single-child families and discovered how much can be hidden behind a family’s circumstances, from infertility and illness to adoption and other deeply personal experiences.

We talk about the assumptions we make about other people, why kindness matters when we don’t know someone’s full story, and how Sofya brings those values into her work with children, adults, and people with disabilities.

And because food is at the center of so much of Sofya’s work, we also talk about cooking as a creative and therapeutic experience—including one very pink solution for helping a picky eater become more adventurous with food.

Connect with Chef Sofya Stearns:[WEBSITE]

Find The One and Only: By Fate or By Choice:[AMAZON/BOOK LINK]

Subscribe to Powerful on Purpose for more conversations with women using their stories, expertise, and purpose to make a positive impact in the world.

Chapters
00:00 Meet Chef Sofya Stearns
02:48 One class becomes a business
05:31 From pre-med to entrepreneurship
06:30 Being judged by assumptions
08:20 Judgment after becoming a mother
09:20 Why she wrote The One and Only
11:25 Creating spaces without judgment
14:28 Cooking as connection and healing
18:14 Helping picky eaters experiment
21:48 The One and Only
22:17 Choose kindness over judgment

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