My journey into motherhood began where the standard map ends.
As a physician who had practiced in both Obstetrics and Psychiatry, I was used to the protocols. But a complicated birth and a long recovery stripped away the usual postpartum script, leaving me in a raw, quiet space of healing.
In hindsight, this was an accidental liberation. Freed from the pressure to perform and the metrics of “good mothering,” I was left with the one question that society rarely gives mothers time to ask: Who am I now?
My answer came in the form of a radical act: a 3-year sabbatical.
It was not a retreat, but a deep, intentional journey of self-reclamation that led me to Johns Hopkins University. There, I pursued dual MPH and MBA degrees to build the frameworks for a crisis hiding in plain sight.
Today, I am turning that personal mission into a global call to action on multiple fronts.
My upcoming book (releasing World Mental Health Day 2025) translates my experience into a guide for others. My advocacy through platforms like LinkedIn and The Voice of Africa has created a community of tens of thousands.
I am bringing this vital conversation to global stage
participating in forums at the World Bank, and helping guide strategy as the youngest board member of Ghana’s premier private mental health facility- The Brain and Sleep Medical Center.
The centerpiece of this is my company, QLC, and our AI-enabled companion, Eli. We are launching our work in Ghana, partnering with a leading teaching hospital to create a powerful, scalable model of support with the vision of serving mothers everywhere.
Dr. Irene Quarshie,
Founder of QLC
When we first created a space for mothers, their first question was not about our program.
It was a plea: When do we get to share our stories?
My mission is to answer that plea – to shift the conversation from survival to powerful becoming, ensuring the necessary act of losing oneself is always met with the sacred work of being found.