“A Mother's Biggest Problem” with Julia Tabisz
Julia Tabisz was diagnosed at 25 with Triple Negative breast cancer. She is a journalist, editor, and a mom with a passion for writing and competitive Irish dance. Julia happily lives in the woods of Maryland with her son and daughter.
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A Mother’s Biggest Problem
Just days after being diagnosed at 35 with Stage II Triple Negative breast cancer, Julia Tabisz found herself in the bathroom with her 2-year-old daughter—tiny toothbrush, tiny feet, a whole new reality settling into the room with them.
It was an ordinary bedtime. It was everything.
A week before, she was simply a working mom navigating exhaustion and night terrors. But that night, she writes, “I thought about how desperately I wished I could go back to those kinds of big problems.”
In this episode, Julia lets us into the private ache of wanting to be remembered by the people you love most—not for your illness, but for the full, vibrant, complicated person you are. She says, “I wanted her to know I was more than a cancer patient.”
This is a story about motherhood reshaped, identity reclaimed, and the weight of ordinary moments when life has suddenly split wide open.
Writing Prompt Inspired by Today’s Episode
Set your timer for ten minutes, write without stopping or editing yourself. There is magic in leaning into that time. The prompt is:
Who I want her (or him or them) to know…
In Julia's story, there was this quiet urgency—a longing to show her daughter who she is beyond that cancer diagnosis.
I want you to write about how you want to be remembered by someone you love. What do you want them to know about you outside of your illness or what you're currently facing? What stories, quirks, passions, or truths do you hope they will carry with them?
If you find that you write best with a good prompt, check out our free prompts and learn about our writing workshops.
Happy writing! Until next time, take good care.
Episode Links
Read a transcript of this episode.
Purchase the “Mothers & Daughters” issue of Wildfire Journal.
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