The Happy Hour #335: Mary Marantz

My guest for The Happy Hour #335 is Mary Marantz. Mary Marantz is a Yale Law School graduate and the first in her immediate family to go to college. She is the author of the book “Dirt” about growing up in a single wide trailer in West Virginia before going on to Yale. She is also the host of The Mary Marantz Show, and her writing has been featured by Southern Living, Business Insider, Bustle, and more. 

Mary is truly a joy to talk to and I always appreciate her ability to share about her journey of growth in such a profound way. In today’s episode, Mary talks about reconciling her childhood and the pressure she put on herself to achieve, as well as what it’s been like to walk through infertility. She also dives into the journey that inspired her book: facing the shame that she carried from her past, and coming to a place of embracing it as a huge part of the story God is writing for her. I love when she says “The story that you have was never a shackle. It was never this thing holding you back and disqualifying you from things before you even begin. It’s getting to this place where you actually not only embrace the story, but you’re willing to put it out front and center.” I love that so much. Sometimes we think that the easy thing to do is hide our stories out of fear that it will make people turn away, or “sympathy-shame” us. But Mary shows us that hiding our past can be a way of rejecting our future and the story God has so beautifully crafted for us. I hope you feel encouraged to embrace your story today, and walk in the freedom that Christ has already written it.

{You can listen to the show HERE, and make sure you never miss a Happy Hour by subscribing through your favorite podcast app (ie. iTunes, Stitcher).  And of course, I would love if you would share with your friends!}