Heartwood & Ember · About Mariah
It started with me. And now, it’s why I help families find their way back to ease.
I struggled to read as a child. Really struggled.
Not the kind of struggling that gets noticed quickly. The quiet kind, where you work hard and still fall behind.
Where books feel like something other children understand and you don't.
Then someone saw the pattern beneath my struggle. I got the help I needed. And something shifted.
Reading became the thing that changed everything.
I fell in love with books. With stories. With the way a page could open a door to somewhere entirely new.
That experience is the reason I became a teacher. It became the reason I spent years training as a credentialed educational specialist.
It became the reason I raised my own children to be voracious readers. Daily, voluntarily, reading all day if left to their own devices.
But I didn’t get there by drilling skills. I got there by regulating my own nervous system and creating space for connection.
Through story woven into the ordinary moments of our days. Through a home where books are simply part of the air. Through intentional practices that turned reading into rhythm.
Heartwood & Ember is where I weave together my passion for raising readers with my deep commitment to intentional living. I believe that how we organize our shelves, how we breathe through anxiety, and how we read stories are all part of the same tapestry.
When we approach life with presence rather than pressure, everything shifts.
I am an Educational Specialist who sees behavior as data, not defiance. I am a Story & Somatic Weaver. Through my training in somatic practices and intentional art making, I know that connection often blooms in the spaces words can’t reach.
And I am a mother who knows that slow living isn’t about doing less, it’s about being fully present in what matters most.
I help moms turn reading resistance into reading presence, so you can stop fighting and start connecting. Not just on the page, but in your home, your heart, and your daily rhythm.
Welcome to The Heartwood.
what I know to be true
Not every child has found their way in, yet.
Not every home has found its rhythm, yet.
The capacity is always there waiting for the right conditions, the right story, the right moment to shift.
Reading is a Practice. Not just a skill, but a presence. It’s how we weave intention into our days through story, breath, and space.
The resistance you see? The struggle? They're patterns waiting to become the rhythm that resonates with your family.
how I can help you
when reading feels like a battle
A child who refuses to read is communicating something. I help you see what and respond in a way that shifts the pattern rather than deepening it.
when you don't know where to start
You need one moment to go differently.
I help you find it and build from there.
when reading keeps getting forgotten
Reading doesn't need a dedicated hour.
It needs a home in the ordinary moments of your day. I'll help you find where it naturally belongs.
when your child can read but won't
There's a difference between a child who can't read and a child who doesn't want to.
Knowing which you're dealing with changes everything about how you respond.
what I bring to this work
1
I know how reading develops in children. The difference between a child who is struggling with learning to read, a child who reads because they have to, and a child who chooses to read because they want to. That knowledge is the base.
2
Reading grows in homes where there's no pressure and no performance. Only connection. I use gentle breathwork, mindful pauses, and intentional art making to regulate the nervous system so reading can return naturally.
3
The rhythms we build here aren't added on top of your life. They grow from within it, from the in between moments, the slow mornings, the ten minutes before bed. By designing calm spaces and living intentionally, we remove friction so presence can take its seat.
you're in the right place if
You just need help finding the way in.
You want real answers from someone who knows how reading develops and understands the nervous system
You're done with strategies that create more pressure, not more connection
You want reading to feel like something your family reaches for, not manages
You're ready for one small shift and willing to trust what grows from it
come gather with us
Every rhythm begins with one moment.
Let's find yours together.
This is how reading comes home.
You're a Rhythm Keeper. Welcome home.
Heartwood & Ember is rooted in reciprocity.
Each year, we dedicate 5% of our profits to supporting sustainable living initiatives that protect people, animals, and the planet. ♡