Elissa ely biography

Elissa Ely’s dog, Cooper, on Moosilauke

A small white envelope hand-addressed to me appeared in the pile of bills and junk mail a few years ago.

I opened it up and found a flowered card. It was from Dr. Elissa Ely, a Boston psychiatrist and writer.

Elissa ely biography

She has recorded and written personal essays for public radio and print for years. Ely notices moods and fears everywhere she goes. She is a master at the very-short essay form. She calls her work “little pieces” but they leave big impressions.

That letter led to a correspondence.

Elissa ely biography death

She wanted to write for Appalachia!

Elissa told me, “Especially in the huts, sleeping cheek to jowl with strangers, we’re drawn intensely into lives without knowledge or names.” I’ve found that mountains strip away pretense, perhaps not just in the way Elissa notices.

(When I’m in the huts, I tend to withdraw. I don’t always notice the dramas there. I do notice