Writer Ellen Morris Prewitt Blog

My New Righting Group Book

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on October 30, 2019. Posted in General, HOMELESSNESS, Writing. Leave a Comment

Y’all, I’ve been so busy getting my new book into the hands of folks who can use it, I haven’t stopped long enough to tell you about it. Most of y’all know for 8 years I was part of a weekly writing group of Memphians who had personally experienced homelessness. We wrote; we held public readings; we hosted full-day...

When You are Set Apart by Your Gifts

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on February 17, 2020. Posted in General, Writing. Leave a Comment

(I introduced this set of book reviews here. This is the 2nd in the series) The Loneliness of AngelsMyriam J.A. Chancy (set primarily in Haiti, pub 2010Plot summary: a family tries to understand—and live with—its gift of discernment I recently have read a lot of books in a very short span of time, all by authors with whom I was previously...

What if We Quit Dying?

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on February 15, 2020. Posted in General, Writing. Leave a Comment

As I mentioned earlier, when I was in school, I loved the week between Christmas and New Year’s because all I did during that time was read, book after book. I wanted to replicate that reading marathon this year, and, in particular, read the Spanish-language based books my Mother gave me for Christmas last year (yeah, I know I’m late,...

Who Knew I was Tough? Thank the Fairies

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on January 30, 2020. Posted in General. Leave a Comment

This morning I watched a six inch needle sink into my foot. The thin, elegant needle disappeared in the flesh. As the doctor pressed the steel into the top of my bony foot, the nurse sprayed the spot with a freezing agent. When the needle threatened to exit the underside of my foot, the nurse redirected the anesthetizing agent in that direction. It...

We are Wonders of the Universe

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on January 25, 2020. Posted in General, HOMELESSNESS, LOVE, Writing. Leave a Comment

They were strangers to me. One I had met the Sunday before and spoken with for about five minutes. The workshop host I had admired mostly from afar and met with to set up the workshop. The group had a mother and daughter in it, but otherwise, they appeared to be as unknown to each other as they were to me. Now, we, this group of strangers, were...

When Your Racist Beliefs are Challenged….

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on January 20, 2020. Posted in General, RACISM. 8 Comments

When I was in the 7th grade, I went on a weekend trip with a new friend. Drew was Jewish and, as she explained, because her grandmother was with us on that Passover, we would be observing. We went to what I, a young girl newly minted from Mississippi, called the coast, and they called the beach. I remember it as a remote island. I’m sure it...

That is Life

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on January 11, 2020. Posted in General, LOVE. 4 Comments

Last night, riding home, we watched the clouds pass across the moon, revealing and retreating. Gandy, the boys, and me—tracking, commenting, announcing our sightings when the moon revealed itself. Sighing when it hid its light. A normal night turned magical. * The youngest...

Happy 2020!

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on January 1, 2020. Posted in FASHION, General. 9 Comments

I have come to rely on photos to remind me of the moments in my life, and my husband is the best, most tolerant, helpful, patient (“No, I look horrible.” “No.” “No.” “Okay, that’ll do.”) supportive chronicler in the whole blessed world. New Year’s Eve in New Orleans, 2020 with me in...

I Believe for the New Year

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on December 29, 2019. Posted in General. 14 Comments

I believe for the new year I will buy a pocket dictionary and stop looking up words on line. I believe for the new year I will begin each morning with a meditative practice. It can be contemplative prayer. Sitting on the porch. Surveying the yard. Fingering the prayer beads my talented friend and Bead by Bead author Suzanne Henley made for me....

The Poignancy of Christmas

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on December 22, 2019. Posted in General, GOD, GRIEF. 6 Comments

My brilliant older sister chooses a theme every Christmas. On Christmas Day at dinner, we go round the table and each person says what the theme means to them. We have done this since her daughters (now married or engaged) were too young to hold a knife. She—my older sister—also does a birthday cake for Jesus, ties red ribbons all over the house,...

Advent 2019, Week 2

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on December 8, 2019. Posted in General, GOD. 8 Comments

It’s the 2nd Sunday of Advent, 2019. I’m reviewing moments of my church life. I do this every time we pray the confession of our sins, where we are supposed to say, “We do humbly repent,” but as a teenager I inadvertently said, “We do humbly repeat,” and my sister and I burst out laughing. After that, my mother...