Mary Katherine Backstrom

Mary Katherine “MK” Backstrom is a popular blogger, social media personality (Mom Babble), and mother of two children.

She frequently speaks about how to find light in the “dark ages” of parenting. Her offerings of hope and spiritual inspiration resonate with families in the trenches of new parenthood. With a hallmark Southern warmth, Backstrom reaches her audience of exhausted parents exactly as they are: hot messes chugging cold coffee, hoping to find that elusive light at the end of the tunnel.

Through vulnerable personal stories and hilarious parenting anecdotes, Backstrom reveals that “the light” isn’t some elusive finish line, but rather a spark of faith which can illuminate even the hardest seasons in life.

Sharing from experiences of both Light (a quaint southern childhood, the miracle of conception, the awe of childbirth) and Darkness (childhood sexual abuse, a year long battle with PPD, breast cancer diagnosis) Backstrom’s ability to find flickers of joy in every circumstance will come as a welcome revelation to the struggling, tired parent.

A departure from traditional Christian voices, Mary Katherine never claims to be a parenting expert or spiritual authority. Instead, she connects with readers and audiences like dear friends cozied up on a coffee date. Backstrom’s conversational approach to speaking translates well with large audiences, as evidenced by her explosive Facebook growth in 2018.

Backstrom’s writing has gone viral for multiple websites, including AOL.com, Yahoo.com, Huffington Post, That’s Inappropriate, Today Show, and Scary Mommy (where she was on staff for one year, publishing over 100 essays). She recently signed a traditional publishing deal, which will be announced in April 2019.

Backstrom is happy to speak for audiences of varying sizes, and share the story of how her faith in Jesus "cracked the door" in her heart, letting a light pour in that saved her in the darkest of times.