Episode 101 with Mary Lambert
Doubt, Joy, and Making Things
Show Notes & Full Transcript
In this first episode of the Fat Joy Podcast’s Creation Lab Capsule Collection, Sophia sits down with Mary Lambert (she/her) for an honest, energizing conversation about how creativity weaves through her life, often in ways she didn’t expect. Mary opens up about the moments when her creative instincts went quiet, the surprising places they re-emerged, and the turning points that helped her reconnect with her own voice.
Together, they explore questions many of us wrestle with:
How do you stay creative when you’re overwhelmed?
What do you do when doubt gets loud?
And what if creativity is already showing up for you — just not in the ways you’ve been taught to recognize?
Mary shares thoughtful insights about the pressure to “get it right,” the freedom that comes from lowering the stakes, and the tenderness of returning to self-expression after years of self-criticism. She also talks about the specific challenges and possibilities of nurturing creativity while living in a fat body, and how reclaiming creative space can become a powerful act of self-trust.
Whether you’re trying to restart a stalled creative practice, craving more meaning in your day-to-day life, or simply wanting to hear from someone who’s walking that path with intention and honesty, this conversation offers both inspiration and real permission to begin again.
To learn more about how you can tap into your creativity and take an idea from napkin scribble to something alive in the world, check out the Fat Joy Creation Lab. We start in March!
Mary Lambert is a multi-platinum artist, author of the poetry collection Shame is an Ocean I Swim Across, and has performed on the Colbert Show, Ellen, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Tonight Show, and the American Music Awards. Lambert also received the Human Rights Campaign’s Visibility Award, The SAMHSA Special Recognition Award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for her work on destigmatizing mental illness, and was invited to speak at the UN.
Lambert is currently working on a new book and album about body image; co-starring in the Netflix animated musical and series, I ♥️ Arlo and Arlo the Alligator Boy; co-hosting The Manic Episodes, a queer and mental health podcast; and facilitates a virtual workshop on body image called Everybody is a Babe.
Mary’s website, Instagram, and TikTok.
https://www.instagram.com/marylambertsing/
https://www.tiktok.com/@marylambertsing
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