Magic Lessons Ep. 204: “Who Gets To Decide Whether You're A Legitimate Artist?" featuring Mark Nepo

This week, on the season finale of Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert takes a deep dive into the some of the season’s themes with writer and activist Glennon Doyle Melton. They talk about Melton’s trajectory from blogger to best-selling author, and she offers a benediction to the eight creators who shared their stories this season. Special Guest: Glennon Doyle Melton is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoirs Love Warrior and Carry On, Warrior:The Power of Embracing Your Messy, Beautiful Life. She’s the creator of the online community Momastery and the founder and president of the non-profit Together Rising, which has raised millions of dollars for families in crisis all over the world. This week's sponsors: Audible.com, Casper.com, TheGreatCoursesPlus.com, and Stamps.com  Use the promo code: Lessons

This week on Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert advises Hope, a spoken-word poet in Ohio. A self-described introvert, Hope wants to take her poetry to the next level, but she's scared to submit her work to journals and enter poetry slams. She's paralyzed by a deep fear of rejection. Liz calls up her friend, the writer and life coach Martha Beck, for more guidance on Hope’s case. Special Guest: Martha Beck is a speaker, writer, and life coach. Her bestselling books include Expecting Adam, Finding Your Own North Star, and Diana, Herself: An Allegory of Awakening. Beck is also a columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine. Find out more about her at marthabeck.com This week's sponsors: Casper, The Great Courses Plus, and Stamps.com Use the promo code: Lessons

This week on Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert advises Britta, a former lawyer-turned- writer in Amsterdam struggling to make progress on her second book. After success with her first novel, Britta made several failed attempts to start her second. She can’t find the flow and fears she has lost the the joy in writing. Liz calls up her friend, the prolific writer and novelist Neil Gaiman, for more guidance on Britta’s case. Special Guest: Neil Gaiman writes fiction, comic books, graphic novels, journalism, audio theater, and films. His works include The Sandman, American Gods, and the children’s novel and animated film Coraline. His new book, a collection of essays about artists, myths, and memories, is called A View from the Cheap Seats. Find out more about him at Neil Gaiman.com This week's sponsors: Audible, The Great Courses Plus, and Stamps.com Use the promo code: Lessons

This week on Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert advises Penelope, a dance teacher in New Jersey, who wants to create a dance performance to mark her 60th birthday. Even though she’s been dancing her whole life, she’s having trouble finding the courage to pull this off. For expert guidance, Liz calls up one of the most courageous dancers she knows: Amy Purdy — a Paralympian snowboarder and semifinalist on Dancing With the Stars.  Special Guest: Amy Purdy is a snowboarder, Paralympian, dancer, model, actor, and speaker. Her memoir On My Own Two Feet: From Losing My Legs To Learning The Dance Of Life is published by HarperCollins. You can find out more about her at amypurdy.com This week's sponsors: Casper, The Great Courses Plus, and Stamps.com Use the promo code: Lessons

This week on Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert advises Colleen, an advertising executive in New York City, who dreams of being a storyteller but fears it's a frivolous pursuit. Colleen hopes to create a one-woman show, mining stories from her childhood growing up in an Irish Catholic family that ran and owned a bar. Liz calls up the writer Gary Shteyngart for additional expertise on the pain and relief that comes with telling family stories. Special Guest: Gary Shteyngart is the award-winning author of the novels Super Sad True Love Story, Absurdistan, and The Russian Debutante’s Handbook. Born in Leningrad, his memoir Little Failure is a candid and moving account of growing up as a Russian emigre in America. Find out more about him and his work at garyshteyngart.com. This week's sponsors: Audible, The Great Courses Plus, and Stamps.com Use the promo code: Lessons

This week on Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert talks with Cecilia, a young poet in Florida. Cecilia fell in love with poetry in college and applied to a dozen MFA programs. She got rejected from every one. Devastated by the rejection she fell into great despair and wondered if she could still call herself a poet when these MFA programs deemed her talents insufficient. For extra guidance Liz brings in her friend, the poet and storyteller Mark Nepo, who has soulful advice for Cecilia. And later we hear from Cecilia about what she's been up to since her first magic lesson. Special Guest: Mark Nepo is a poet, teacher, storyteller and the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Book of Awakening. His most recent books include The One Life We’re Given: Finding the Wisdom that Waits in your Heart (Atria, July 2016), and Inside the Miracle: Enduring Suffering, Approaching Wholeness (Sounds True), selected by Spirituality & Health Magazine as one of the top ten best books of 2015. Find out more about him at MarkNepo.com This week's sponsors: Casper, The Great Courses Plus, and Stamps.com And use the promo code: Lessons

This week on Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert enlists the comedian Michael Ian Black to help coach Keith, an improv comedy performer in Baltimore. A few years ago Keith fell hard for improv. He took every improv class in Baltimore and but there wasn't a regular space to perform. So he formed a troupe and found a venue, building a vibrant improv community called the Charm City Comedy Project. But, somewhere along the way, he neglected his own dreams of creating a one-man show. Special Guest: Michael Ian Black is an actor, comedian, and host of the podcast "How To Be Amazing." On TV you can find him on The Jim Gaffigan Show and Another Period. He's also the author of the memoir Navel Gazing: True Tales of Bodies, Mostly Mine, (But Also My Mom's Which I Know Sounds Weird.) Find out more about him at MichaelIanBlack.org This week's sponsors: Audible, The Great Courses Plus, and Stamps.com Always use the promo code: Lessons

This week on Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert advises Anne, a photographer in Pennsylvania. For the last few years Anne has been documenting her brother's life. He's a veteran with PTSD and a recovering drug addict. She imagines turning all this material into a photo-essay exhibit or book, but she's afraid to take the next steps to make it happen. To help guide Anne, Liz calls up her friend Brandon Stanton, the photographer and creator of the photo series "Humans of New York.” Several weeks later, Anne reveals what she's been up to since getting all this advice.   Special Guest: Brandon Stanton is the photographer and creator behind Humans of New York. He is also the author of two number 1 New York Times-bestselling books, Humans of New York and Humans of New York: Stories. Find out more about him at HumansofNewYork.com This week's sponsors: Casper, The Great Courses Plus, and Stamps.com And use the promo code: Lessons

Jo has spent years working on her phD on the Holocaust and fighting for feminist causes, but that work is not where her true passions lie. She wants to fulfill a childhood dream and write comedy and comic novels. Jo wonders: am I allowed to stop saving the world and make fun art? Elizabeth Gilbert offers Jo advice along with her friend, the performer and playwright Sarah Jones. And we check in with Jo several weeks later to hear how the advice landed and inspired change.   Special Guest: Sarah Jones is a playwright and performer, best known for her one-woman Broadway show Bridge and Tunnel which won a special Tony award. Her latest project called Sell/Buy/Date is about sex trafficking and exploitation. And she's about to launch her own podcast, Play Date with Sarah Jones, with Public Radio International. Find out more about her at sarahjonesonline.com

The author of BIG MAGIC talks to Brene Brown, the author of RISING STRONG, about how essential creativity is for healthy, wholehearted living. This is an installment of Magic Lessons with Elizabeth Gilbert. For more information on Elizabeth Gilbert, please visit: www.elizabethgilbert.com.