Daily Inspiration: Meet Maverick Malone

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maverick Malone.

Hi Maverick, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Growing up, I often felt this pull inside myself, some quiet intuition that was constantly trying to get my attention and push me in the direction of chasing my dreams of being a writer and seeking a BIG life. Unfortunately, I struggled heavily with mental health in my teens and twenties. I was terrified of the world and felt unloved and invisible. I couldn’t hear my inner voice – nor would I have trusted it back then if I did – and instead outsourced myself to everyone around me, thinking they knew best. I was afraid to live my own life and didn’t trust myself to make the right decisions. All that noise, coupled with parents who dissuaded me from pursuing art and writing in favor of something more financially stable, had me shelving my dreams and shaping my life to others’ beliefs and expectations.

As a result, I chose the “safe path.” After graduating college with a biology degree, I fell into the trap I was sold – that marriage and children alone could fill this gnawing feeling that something was missing in my life. During quarantine and seven years into that marriage, I had a mental breakdown that finally woke me to my truth: that I was deeply unhappy, unfulfilled and needed more than what “wife/mother” offered to give my life the deep purpose I was searching for.

There is entirely too much to my story to condense it into a few short paragraphs but suffice to say, getting divorced was the best decision I could have made for myself because it meant that for the first time in my life, I chose ME and what I wanted – not what someone else wanted for me. I started writing every day and couldn’t stop. I took chances and solo-traveled. I legally changed my entire name: first, middle and last. I finally got the tattoos and piercings I’d always wanted. I attended open mic poetry nights and conquered my fear of not only public speaking but of being known, and have since published two books of poetry. I found the confidence and self-love I’ve always hungered for. I was finally able to look myself in the mirror and say, “I love you,” at last understanding what that word meant. Loving myself first lead me to the BIG love of another, who has become my greatest champion. I am, today and everyday henceforth, continually growing, expanding and becoming.

If I had to sum it up, I’d say I grabbed my pen, sailed into a brighter life and never looked back.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My journey has been filled with numerous challenges from early on. Simply put, I struggled with living. I was painfully shy and would never speak up in groups. School gave me intense anxiety for the fear of being called on. I had such a negative view of myself from about 15 to 26, oscillating between an eating disorder, drinking to excess, and dating men who were completely wrong for me. Writing is what sustained me all those years. I found safety and comfort in language and felt the page was where I could authentically be myself.

I would say my biggest struggle to date was in 2020 when I was exploring spirituality and new ways of thinking. It had me questioning everything, especially what was possible for my future. One evening during a mediation, I had an unsettling vision that awoke my own repressed deep-seated trauma. Everything I had lied to myself about and ignored for years came rushing to the surface and sent my nervous system into overload. There were weeks in which I was tormented by horrific nightmares and some nights, I was lucky to get two or three hours of broken sleep. My heart was pounding 24/7 and I was also battling postpartum depression. My body was stuck in fight-or-flight mode, and my husband at time had no idea how to help me. It was the most alone I’ve ever felt in my life, this period of time when I was engulfed by terror, despair, and dread.

I existed in that state for months until I began my healing journey, which lead me to the realization that I had to leave the marriage or else my future was going to be very bleak and full of illness. It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in my life, the one to leave an almost 14 year relationship with someone whom I had made my whole world. I was terrified of being alone and being on my own. I didn’t know if I would make it but I had this growing voice inside me that told me I could.

Awakening to the magic of the world around me and learning to trust myself has most definitely been a rewarding journey because now I can clearly hear my inner guidance, and I know that no matter what challenges I face, I’m never alone. There is so much to my personal struggles that even now, I find it difficult to find the words. However, I’m working on a memoir that will one day do my story justice in its entirety. Writing has been the one thing that has always carried me through, and it always will.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a writer and currently majority of my work centers around poetry. I recently co-created a women-centric community called Superbloom Society where we offer poetry workshops and hiking retreats. I also host the podcast Ink Speak, which melds my love of poetry with the magic and wonder of living. On my podcast, I often share personal stories and tie them in to whatever else might be on my mind, so I never stick to just one topic. I have entirely too many interests for that! I’m an extremely curious person, so you never know what I might be discussing on the podcast.

I also have two published full length collections of poetry. My first collection, Pressed Petals, details my healing journey through divorce and is heavy on themes of self love and inner strength. Publishing books has always been a life long dream of mine and I can still remember the moment I held that book in my hands. It was like a birth, almost. I sobbed tears of joy in my kitchen holding that book, my first ever publication, knowing what it had taken to get there and how many more future books I would birth into this world.

My second collection, Hope and Other Beautiful Things, was released recently in April of 2024. That book began as a chapbook entry of 36 poems for a nationwide poetry contest. When it got rejected, I decided to keep writing. I added more poems and made it bigger and more beautiful, and about a year later, I published it – including that initial rejection letter. It stands as a testament to hope and believing in our dreams. It’s also a reminder of the wonder available to us in this world. I think it’s very timely with its beautiful messages of love and acceptance in a world that desperately needs more of that.

I believe that being any kind of artist is one of the most vulnerable things one can be and it takes immense courage to put your raw truth out into the world. As a writer, I think what sets me apart from most are my perspective and creativity. I like to say I’m a “painter with words” because that is how I view my work: heavy on immersive imagery that drops you right into the scene. I use clever wordplay and do innovative things with my poetry. I will take a concept or idea and spin it in a new way because that is how I see the world – for its incredible “what if’s” and “could be’s.”

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
The human experience is such a vast and overwhelming spectrum. I feel so grateful to have been born into this life as this expression of myself and to experience this world through the lens of a writer with the magical perspective I now hold. My intention with my work has always been to share that – to help others discover whatever their own “more” is and to wake them to the idea that magic is real – it’s just not what people think it is.

What motivates me is simple: it’s hope. Even in a world so rife with pain and suffering, there is always hope. Positive change is possible if we only learn to believe; if we only learn to look up.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.maverickmalone.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mavmalone/
• Facebook: https://www.superbloomsociety.com/
• Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ink-speak/id1688494947

Image Credits
Sarah Hinch (only for the photo of Pressed Petals book and photo of me with the book sitting on the couch; the rest of the photos are my own)