Welcome to My Heart is Aiken.

I’m Mara—mom, advocate, speaker, and professional bullshit-cutter.
When my son Aiken was born with Down syndrome, I wasn’t flooded with gratitude and joy. I was flooded with grief, fear, guilt, and a thousand questions I didn’t know how to ask out loud.

This space was born from that place.

My Heart is Aiken is where we tell the real stories—the ones that don’t fit on a Hallmark card. It’s where new moms can grieve and love at the same time.
Where we can talk about motherhood, diagnoses, advocacy, and what it really means to show up for ourselves and our kids.

No toxic positivity. No pretending everything’s fine. Just truth, community, and healing on your terms.

I’m so glad you’re here.

xoxo, Mara