Tuckered Out with Ami Thakkar

Maryanne J.George is Celebrating Life, Music, and Motherhood

Listen on

Episode notes

Maryanne J. George is a Grammy Award-winning artist and a clinical mental health therapist. With five Grammy wins and nine nominations attributed to her collaborations with Maverick City Music, her impact on the music industry is undeniable. Together with Maverick City Music, she has helped redefine the boundaries of contemporary Christian music (CCM) earning critical acclaim, widespread recognition, and a dedicated fan base. 

Maryanne has released a brand new independent track called Labor, just in time for Mother's Day, and this song really captures the journey not just of motherhood but womanhood and personal growth.

In this episode, we talk about motherhood and the journey we thought it would be,  the journey that it is, and all the beauty and ugliness of it. We talk about how motherhood is the hardest thing you'll ever do, and the most rewarding. Finally, we go deep into how we navigate the expectations of being South Asian, career, and motherhood, and how they shape the lessons we teach our children.
 

What We Talked About:

  •  A Labor of Love: Maryanne reflects on being a mom at the height of her career, the expectations and judgments about motherhood, and her desire to give a gift to her daughter inspired her new song, Labor (4:48)
  • The Great Journey of Motherhood: Maryanne and Ami talk frankly about the challenges of motherhood, including not wanting children and a career, difficult pregnancies, and post-partum depression, and how they would never go back and make a different decision + motherhood as the highest form of growth: how being a parent helps you reflect and heal in your own life, how children teach you what matters + Maryanne describes being a mother has made more confident and comfortable in her skin than she has ever been (7:42)
  • South Asian Motherhood, Then and Now: Ami and Maryanne acknowledge how the sacrifices of their South Asian parents enabled them to pursue their dreams + the conflict between the traditional expectations of South Asian motherhood and the need to be happy and fulfilled for oneself and one’s children + how their pursuit of career and motherhood can help their children grow and live their dreams + how Ami is being a cool mom (11:47)  
  • Growing Up Brown in America: Maryanne opens up about the expectations of her culture and her constant fear of how her decisions would impact her wider family + the balance between being American and celebrating and defending her culture + navigating the music and gospel worlds while being neither white nor black (17:13)
  • “You Know What, Girl? There's No Typical South Asian:”  Maryanne celebrates her multiple identities of being South Asian, Christian, a female artist, and a mother all in one (19:53)

 

Connect with Maryanne:

Let’s talk Connect:

 

This podcast is produced by Ginni Media