About this Event
About the book:
An unflinchingly honest and disarmingly funny memoir from an exhausted mom who broke under the pressure to do it all, found herself in the rubble, and then paved her way out by telling the truth
When Libby Ward became a mother, she thought she was prepared. Determined to give her kids a childhood different from her own, she clung to the world’s “shoulds” like her children’s future depended on it. That was her first mistake.
A couple of years later, with a toddler around her ankle, a needy baby in her arms, and yesterday’s dishes waiting in the sink, she found herself fantasizing about a hospital stay just to get a flippin’ break. With a silent rage coursing through her veins, she did what any overachieving people pleaser would do—she wallowed in shame and tried harder. Self-care! Routine! Sleep when the baby sleeps! When it didn’t work, she wondered: Why, with so much advice at our fingertips, is motherhood still so hard?
In Honest Motherhood, Libby takes us on a journey of unlearning the myth of the ideal mother. She candidly shares the experiences many mothers have but few feel safe enough to say out loud—the lack of support, the mental load, the invisibility, the cycles they’re breaking, and the longing to matter again. By untangling her social conditioning from her childhood trauma, Libby lets go of guilt, serves the chicken nuggets, and discovers that prioritizing herself isn’t selfish—it’s a necessity.
Equal parts memoir and manifesto, flush with refreshing takeaways, Honest Motherhood is a rallying cry for moms to let go of perfection, choose themselves, and give their kids what they need most—a mother who is present and whole.
About the author:
Libby Ward is a creator, speaker, and advocate for women and mothers. Through her social media platforms, Libby is known to connect and empower women with honesty, humor, and her relatable voice. She has been featured on the BBC, Good Morning America, and is a member of Reese Witherspoon’s inaugural Hello Sunshine Collective. She lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and two children.
Dr. Anna Malaika Tubbs is a 2x New York Times bestselling author and multidisciplinary expert on the intersections of race, gender, and equity. A "statistical unicorn" in the publishing world, Anna achieved back-to-back bestseller status with her first two books by age 32; a feat that distinguishes her as the youngest Black woman in history to produce consecutive non-fiction bestsellers and one of the only people to ever do so within a four-year window regardless of gender, race, and age.
With a Ph.D. in Sociology and a Masters in Multidisciplinary Gender Studies from the University of Cambridge, alongside a Bachelors in Medical Anthropology from Stanford University, Anna possesses a rare ability to translate rigorous academic discovery into stories widely read both inside and outside of academia. Her debut, The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of MLK Jr, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation (2021), has sold over 100,000 copies and fundamentally corrects the American archive. Her second book, Erased: What American Patriarchy Has Hidden From Us (May 2025), hit the bestseller list instantly, solidifying her place in a rare lineage of public intellectuals and making her one of the most influential thinkers of our time.
Anna’s reach extends beyond the page; her TED Talk on the matriarchal foundations of history has been viewed over 2 million times, and her insights have been featured in TIME, New York Magazine, Newsweek, and The Guardian. She has been seen on The View, Good Morning America, and CBS Mornings. Anna is currently developing scripted and unscripted screen projects to further expand her storytelling career. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their three children.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
1113 Montana Ave, 1113 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, United States
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