Episode 1

full
Published on:

20th May 2026

Part One: A Career That We Love...?

When we care deeply about our working lives, what happens when something comes along to change it?

When does starting a family come to be part of the conversation? And what do we notice about ourselves when it does?

As we take our first steps towards parenthood, the layers of invisible experiences that might be bubbling away inside our heads could shed some light. But first we need a way in.

Can a picture of an everyday family breakfast open up what this path might really be like on the inside?

QUOTES:

  • "There was a real tidal wave about the industry and I just got swept along with it..."
  • "Working hard and working long hours..."
  • "I knew who I was and I was happy with where I was at..."
  • "I hadn't even thought about children and families at that point..."
  • "It made it very, very clear to both of us, actually we really do want to do this..."

THEMES:

  • Building early careers
  • When do we start a family?
  • How many hidden layers are there to this conversation?

Add your story: hello at myjourneybacktowork dot com

Transcript here

Credits here

Mentioned in this episode:

Introducing MJBTW

My Journey Back to Work is a listening project and podcast inviting parents to share their experiences. Add your story: www.myjourneybacktowork.com

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Show artwork for My Journey Back to Work

About the Podcast

My Journey Back to Work
Parents' next steps and the stories that travel with us...
When we go back to work after parental leave, what comes next? And how is this shaped by what happens along the way?

Parents share their experiences of something so ‘everyday’ we’d almost miss it, yet so unique to each person, we might struggle to put it into words…
Could the echoes between stories help us to say more?

At least 100,000s UK parents return to work each year.
It's a lot of first days back.
How was yours?

Add your story: hello at myjourneybacktowork dot com