Designing

Intentional

Lives

Reflections on parenting, identity, design, and technology.

📖 Read the Book ✉️ Join on Substack

★ Author | ★ AI Leader | ★ Founder

“Structure and beauty belong together — in our homes, in our families, in ourselves.” — Amie Bakare.

Stop–Start–Continue

A Gentle-ish Parenting Guide

Now Available on Amazon

Amie Bakare
Author
&
Founder
Sierra Leonean-
American Mom · Tech Leader · Author

— Meet Amie

Hi, I’m Amie.

Nice to meet you.

I help families design intentional lives — where the wisdom of where we came from meets the clarity of where we’re going.

I’m an author, AI Product Leader in pharma, and founder of SparkSynergy. Through Anxious African Mom, I write about parenting, identity, home design, and technology — always through the lens of a first-gen Sierra Leonean-American mom building something new.

Gentle-ish Parenting Breaking cycles with grace
Intentional Homes & Lifestyle Afro-modern design & everyday living
AI for Real Life Tech that works for you
First-Gen Identity Culture, grief & legacy
More About Me →

— THE BOOK

STOP

START

CONTINUE

now available

A gentle-ish parenting framework for first-generation families. Borrowed from agile thinking, designed for real life.

Break cycles without losing yourself in the process

Reflect instead of react in high-stakes moments

Parent with awareness instead of pressure

STOP
START
CONTINUE
Now Available on Amazon

— Thought Pillars

Ideas I’m Exploring

Explore All Writing →
🧠

Gentle-ish Parenting

Breaking inherited cycles and building emotional awareness — without the guilt of imperfection.

Explore →
🏠

Intentional Homes & Lifestyle

Afro-modern design and everyday living — spaces and routines that support calm, creativity, and real family life.

Explore →
✨

AI for Real Life

How technology supports everyday workflows, small businesses, and the life you’re building.

Explore →
🌍

First-Gen Identity

Navigating culture, grief, growth, and legacy — for those writing the first chapter of a new story.

Explore →

— New Here? —

Start With These

Three posts that will tell you everything you need to know about this space — and whether it’s for you.

💛 Motherhood

Intentional Living

The Art of Romanticizing Motherhood — My Version

What it really looks like to find beauty in the everyday chaos of raising children with intention.

Read the Post →
🏠 Home & Lifestyle

Design & Culture

African-Owned Decor Brands You’ll Love

Beautiful, intentional home goods from African-owned brands that deserve a place in your space.

Read the Post →
✨ Tech & AI

AI for Real Life

Best OSEA Dupes — How I Used AI to Compare Every Ingredient

I used AI to break down every ingredient in OSEA’s top products and find the best affordable alternatives.

Read the Post →

  • Stop, Start, Continue: A First-Gen Mom’s Healing Journey

  • A blog post graphic with a terracotta banner at the top that reads "ANXIOUS AFRICAN MOM" in white serif font. Below it, large gold and white text says "BEST OSEA DUPES: How I Use AI to Compare Every Ingredient". The photograph shows a smiling Black woman with curly hair in a ponytail and a beige knit sweater, applying lotion from an OSEA bottle to her arm. On the wooden surface next to her are bottles of OUAI Body Cleanser and Saltair Body Wash. The background is a bright, modern bathroom with plants.

    Best OSEA Dupes: How I Used AI to Compare Every Ingredient

  • How to Use AI Automation Tools to Simplify Your Side Hustle

  • Afro-Modern Interior Design for the Modern African Family

  • How to Cook Sierra Leonean Tola

  • Dark-skinned Black professional woman sitting at a desk writing in a notebook, reflecting on her identity after a layoff, with a laptop, notes, and vision board behind her under an “Anxious African Mom” banner titled “How to Rebuild Your Identity After a Devastating Layoff.”

    How to Rebuild Your Career Identity After a Devastating Layoff

  • Illustrated scene of a dark-skinned Black mother with braids being pulled into a tornado filled with household and parenting items, symbolizing overwhelm, while her husband and children stand below asking for help and attention; Anxious African Mom banner at the bottom with the title “Losing Yourself in Motherhood: How to Find Your Way Back.”

    Losing Yourself in Motherhood: How to Find Your Way Back

  • Animated feature image for “How Stress Affects the Body: When to Push or Pause” showing a glowing red nervous system on a woman’s body with the Anxious African Mom banner at the top.

    How Stress Affects the Body: When to Push or Pause

  • Dark-skinned Black woman with braids standing confidently in front of her team, symbolizing AI and storytelling leadership and visionary thinking.

    AI and Storytelling: Why Vision Will Always Outpace Output

  • Featured image for blog post “How to Build Emotional Vocabulary in Kids (Beyond Good or Fine)” showing a dark-skinned Black mother calmly comforting her child during a meltdown.

    How to Build Emotional Vocabulary in Kids

  • Feature image showing tropical palm leaf wallpaper and abstract wallpaper in a stairwell with a painted ceiling, titled “Stairwell Wallpaper Ideas: Should You Wallpaper the Ceiling Too?” by Anxious African Mom.

    Stairwell Wallpaper Ideas to Elevate Every Step

  • Animated Pinterest pin featuring a confident Black woman walking forward with golden light trailing behind her, leaving blurred silhouettes in the background. The text reads “How to Recognize Unhappy People & Protect Your Peace” with the Anxious African Mom banner at the bottom.

    How to Recognize Unhappy People & Protect Your Peace

  • 7 Signs You’re Modeling Healthy Love This Valentine’s