# Ruthie Ackerman on Ambition, Fertility & Becoming an Outlaw Mom

An episode of [The Motherly Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1449924733), 26 Feb 2026, 42 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6493182e810398001135b8c5/e/699f68c5fa559577225aad1b/media.mp3

In this conversation, award-winning journalist and author of The Mother Code and Ignite Writers Collective founder, Ruthie Ackerman, discusses her long, ambivalent journey to motherhood—including confronting cultural narratives that pit motherhood against creative ambition and navigating egg freezing and failed IVF. She also shares her thoughts on the financial and ethical realities of the fertility industry, models of “outlaw” or “revolutionary” mothering, and how motherhood ultimately reshaped her values around time, work, and joy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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