Growing a Lilly

Growing a Lilly is a personal podcast about mental health, family and relationships, and it leaves very little polish between a thought and the moment it is said aloud. The host, Lily, splits the show between solo reflection and conversations with guests. Sentences run long. Phrases loop until a feeling has been fully worked through. The solo episodes carry the show's central idea. In 'Birthday Message 29 <3', recorded on her birthday, Lily gives herself a direct pep talk and then reflects on what growth has asked of her: letting go of the need for validation, no longer using relationships and friendships as distractions, accepting stretches of isolation, and stepping back from people she loves after seeing that those relationships were built on taking from her. She describes healing as hard and not for the weak. Then she repeats the line she admits she says time and time again: healing is not linear. 'Season 2.0' announces the show's return, promises more authenticity and keeps coming back to the idea of shining her own light when others try to dim it. The year-end episode 'Sowing with Lilly: Bye 2020' pairs a holiday week spent with close friends and their new baby with reflection on healing her inner child and releasing resentment, guilt and shame. The guest episodes stay close to home. Her younger sister, Erica Solis, joins for 'The importance on finding your worth with Erica Solis', a conversation that includes a reminder to look at how far you have come instead of only at the negatives, and that gets to relationship red flags, such as not being able to talk openly with others about a relationship. Michelle Galez, whom Lily calls one of her closest friends, appears in 'This is America with Michelle Galez', where the talk weighs the American dream against present-day America and touches on what speaking Spanish opens up. 'Creating Compassion Through Empathy with Cecelia Garozzo' is frank about therapy, anxiety, depression and antidepressants, with the reminder that mental health care is more than meds and therapy. Lily's questions tend toward the emotionally specific rather than the procedural. The language is strong and constant, yet it keeps giving way to earnest talk about self-worth. The tone runs warm, with room for both excitement and gravity. Lily also invites listeners to reach out on Instagram if they would like to be a guest. She signs off with 'stay gold'. For a first listen, 'Birthday Message 29 <3' shows the solo side, and the Cecelia Garozzo conversation shows how the guest episodes handle mental health care.