What if the shame you've been carrying isn't evidence that you're broken—but an invitation to discover your worth?
In this deeply moving conversation, award-winning author, poet, singer-songwriter, and creative coach Marisa Handler joins Girl, Take the Lead! to explore authenticity, creativity, leadership, and the journey from shame to a deeper sense of worthiness.
She is the author of Loyal to the Sky (Nautilus Gold Award) and the forthcoming Sanctuary.
Marisa shares her personal story of growing up in apartheid South Africa, immigrating to the United States, and navigating what she describes as a "dark night of the soul" that ultimately transformed her understanding of belonging, creativity, and self-worth.
Together, we explore how fear, grief, anger, and shame can become unexpected guides on the path back to ourselves. We also discuss why creativity is essential to leadership, how women can stop performing their lives and start living them, and why our worth was never something we had to earn.
Along the way, Marisa shares her beautiful poem Grace and treats us to a live excerpt from her song Seed and Star.
What Marisa Would Tell Her 20-Something Self
If you've ever found yourself striving to be impressive instead of being fully yourself, Marisa's wisdom offers a gentle invitation to come home—to your creativity, your voice, and your worthiness.
Because perhaps the path forward isn't about becoming someone new.
It's about remembering who you've been all along.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
• What it means to stop performing and start living authentically
• Why fear is often the doorway to growth and transformation
• How anger can reveal boundaries that need a voice
• Grief as a pathway back to belonging
• The hidden role shame plays in keeping us small
• Moving from shame to a deeper sense of worthiness
• Why creativity and leadership are deeply connected
• Trusting your intuition and creative process
• The difference between being impressive and being real
• Grace, authenticity, and living from your full aliveness
• A live excerpt from Marisa's song Seed and Star
"Stop trying to be impressive. Start trying to be real."
About Marisa Handler
Marisa Handler is an award-winning author, prize-winning poet, singer-songwriter, and creative coach whose work lives at the intersection of personal transformation and collective awakening.
A Fulbright Fellow and Iowa Writers' Workshop alumna, she has worked with thousands of people through her coaching practice, retreats, and teachings at Spirit Rock, Esalen, Stanford, and Gaia House, as well as through her signature program, Live Your Creative Genius.
If you're ready to stop playing small and step into the fullest, most luminous version of yourself, Marisa is your guide.
Connect with Marisa Handler
Website
www.marisahandler.com
Creative Archetypes Quiz (Free)
Discover your unique creative style and gifts:
https://marisahandler.com/creative-archetypes-quiz
Live Your Creative Genius
Learn more about Marisa's signature transformational coaching program:
https://marisahandler.com/lycg/
Complimentary Unleash Your Creative Genius Breakthrough Session
Apply for a free breakthrough session (valued at $300):
https://forms.gle/sgsYXy2j6rhMEdor8
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisa-handler/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/marisa.handler.3
Instagram
@marisasings
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