Welcome to the spiritual life. I'm Father Jim Martin.

On this podcast, we reflect on how people experience God in their prayer and in their daily lives.

And I'm joined by my superb producer.

I know I keep giving you a new adjective. Maggie Van Dorn, Maggie, good to be with you.

Thanks, Jim.

I like all the new adjectives.

It's good to be with you.

And I'm so excited for what our guests are about to hear.

This week, we have an incredible guest ahead of us.

And her stories alone, I think, are gonna rock your world.

Who are we speaking with?

We are speaking to Mary Carr. So Mary Carr is an

award-winning poet and the author of New York Times best-selling memoirs, The Liars Club, Cherry,

and Lit, as well as the art of memoir and five poetry collections, most recently Tropic of Squalor.

Mary Carr was born in Groves, Texas,

and her work explores themes of family, addiction,

faith, and personal transformation.

She regularly contributes to the New Yorker,

the Atlantic, and Poetry Magazine,

and is the Peck Professor of Literature at Syracuse University.

We would also be remiss if we didn't acknowledge at the jump that you are Mary Carr's spiritual director.

That's right. I am Mary Carr's spiritual director and it's a little unusual to be interviewing one of your directees as they're called, but I'm not going to divulge anything that she has said in direction, obviously.

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