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Lost Girls: Short Stories
“A dazzling collection of stories that showcases Morris' impressive ability to hide devastating truths within seemingly small moments.” —Jenny Offill
Lost Girls explores the experiences of women and girls as they grieve, find love, face uncertainty, take a stand, find their future, and say goodbye to the past. A young woman creates a ritual to celebrate the life of a kidnapped girl, an unmarried woman wanders into a breast feeder’s support group and stays, a grieving mother finds solace in an unlikely place, a young girl discovers more than she bargained for when she spies on her neighbors. Though they may seem lost, each finds their center as they confront the challenges and expectations of womanhood.
PRAISE for LOST GIRLS
“The stories in Ellen Birkett Morris’s collection, Lost Girls, are memorable for the way they see the lasting truths that reside within the familiar. These stories are full of imaginative leaps that capture the wildness that lies beneath our seemingly ordinary lives. Morris is a writer of extraordinary talent. With elegance and precision, she can turn a story into something luminous and unforgettable.” —Lee Martin, author of Pulitzer Prize Finalist The Bright Forever
"Ellen Birkett Morris is a skillful literary pointillist. In Lost Girls, her debut collection, each spare sentence is as considered as a poem; step back a little way, and you behold a world." —David Payne, author of Barefoot to Avalon
“This collection of stunning and original stories kept me turning the pages, eager to meet the daughter who eats the sins of others, the 30-year-old virgin who rents a breast pump, the bereft mother drumming away her grief. Ellen Birkett Morris’s Lost Girls draws us so close that before long, we are inhaling the same air, making the same unexpected discoveries, and deeply longing for each of these girls and women to find their private rainbows.” —Masha Hamilton, author of 31 Hours and The Camel Bookmobile
Lost Girls explores the experiences of women and girls as they grieve, find love, face uncertainty, take a stand, find their future, and say goodbye to the past. A young woman creates a ritual to celebrate the life of a kidnapped girl, an unmarried woman wanders into a breast feeder’s support group and stays, a grieving mother finds solace in an unlikely place, a young girl discovers more than she bargained for when she spies on her neighbors. Though they may seem lost, each finds their center as they confront the challenges and expectations of womanhood.
PRAISE for LOST GIRLS
“The stories in Ellen Birkett Morris’s collection, Lost Girls, are memorable for the way they see the lasting truths that reside within the familiar. These stories are full of imaginative leaps that capture the wildness that lies beneath our seemingly ordinary lives. Morris is a writer of extraordinary talent. With elegance and precision, she can turn a story into something luminous and unforgettable.” —Lee Martin, author of Pulitzer Prize Finalist The Bright Forever
"Ellen Birkett Morris is a skillful literary pointillist. In Lost Girls, her debut collection, each spare sentence is as considered as a poem; step back a little way, and you behold a world." —David Payne, author of Barefoot to Avalon
“This collection of stunning and original stories kept me turning the pages, eager to meet the daughter who eats the sins of others, the 30-year-old virgin who rents a breast pump, the bereft mother drumming away her grief. Ellen Birkett Morris’s Lost Girls draws us so close that before long, we are inhaling the same air, making the same unexpected discoveries, and deeply longing for each of these girls and women to find their private rainbows.” —Masha Hamilton, author of 31 Hours and The Camel Bookmobile
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
103 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 26, 2020
8 people are currently reading
220 people want to read
About the author
Ellen Birkett Morris
12 books138 followersEllen Birkett Morris’s novel Beware the Tall Grass is the winner of the Donald L. Jordan Award for Literary Excellence, judged by Lan Samantha Chang, and will be published in 2024 by CSU Press. She is the author of Lost Girls: Short Stories, winner of the Pencraft Award and finalist for the Clara Johnson, IAN and Best Book awards. Her fiction has appeared in Shenandoah, Antioch Review, Notre Dame Review, and South Carolina Review, among other journals. She is a winner of the Bevel Summers Prize for short fiction. Morris is a recipient of an Al Smith Fellowship for her fiction from the Kentucky Arts Council.
Morris is also the author of Abide and Surrender, poetry chapbooks. Her poetry has appeared in The Clackamas Literary Review, Juked, Gastronomica, and Inscape, among other journals, and in eight anthologies. Morris won top prize in the 2008 Binnacle Ultra-Short Edition and was a finalist for the 2019 and 2020 Rita Dove Poetry Prize. Her poem “Abide” was featured on NPR’s A Way with Words. Her essays have appeared in Newsweek, AARP’s The Ethel, Oh Reader magazine, and on National Public Radio.
Morris holds an MFA in creative writing from Queens University-Charlotte.
Morris is also the author of Abide and Surrender, poetry chapbooks. Her poetry has appeared in The Clackamas Literary Review, Juked, Gastronomica, and Inscape, among other journals, and in eight anthologies. Morris won top prize in the 2008 Binnacle Ultra-Short Edition and was a finalist for the 2019 and 2020 Rita Dove Poetry Prize. Her poem “Abide” was featured on NPR’s A Way with Words. Her essays have appeared in Newsweek, AARP’s The Ethel, Oh Reader magazine, and on National Public Radio.
Morris holds an MFA in creative writing from Queens University-Charlotte.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
July 8, 2020
I enjoyed the first story in Ellen Birkett Morris’ new book of short stories, Lost Girls, recalling myself the episode that inspired it. But it was the second story and all that followed that fully captivated my attention and transported me into the worlds of these women and girls. I didn’t want to put the book down, even though I wanted to savor each story. These wonderful stories resonated with me deeply and I suspect many women, and some men, will be transported by them, as I was. I loved this book of short stories, and the revelation of truths, and hope, hope, hope there’s to be another book from Ellen Birkett Morris!
August 11, 2020
As I read each story I had to stop and let my feelings wash over and through me. I just could not read more than one or two at a time because each story rose such feelings in me. I’ve known Ellen for a long time, and I know she’s talented, but this book floored me. The stories will stay with me a long time. Thank you Ellen for sharing your stories and yourself with us.
August 24, 2020
This is the literary gem of my summer.
I asked to review this beautiful poetic collection of stories because I'd rather read a short story each day than take weeks to get through a novel. It caught me and wouldn't let me go, so I finished it in a weekend.
This book is full of real women who are trapped in some way - by longing, by lust, by family allegiance, by society, by grief - to deny some big part of themselves.
From a young woman in the middle of a drought of loneliness healed by an infant's touch:
"My family have been members of the Slocum BaptistChurch for four generations, but I never got religion until Iwent to the Lactation League meeting in Andersonville."
From a woman trying to adjust to her aging body:
"Charlie died of a heart attack at 45. Now she wore plaincotton panties and slept in a t-shirt her nephew had given herwith a picture of Charlie Chaplin on the front. She had neverplanned to be obsolete."
From a woman who wants a man who loves her body as much as she does:
"She never imagined that losing her virginity would be like buying a used race car, something shiny and leek on the outside but broken deep inside."
And from a girl who is trapped into sin through poverty, lust, and lineage:
"Some people are born to sin; others inherit it. I didn’t knowwhich of these I was until I crossed paths with the Cabots."
This book is focused on women, but it's kind to men, too. It's really about the need for human connection, so needed in this time (2020) of enforced isolation. It also reminds us that people need people, no matter what they look like, what they have endured, how old they are. It spoke to me both in terms of my own misfit youth and of my seeming invisibility once I hit my mid-50s.
Yet this collection is one of the spiritual not just the physical, how desire for something more, something outside of ourselves, leads us inward, to that place where no one else can join us. To discover who we truly are.
The author's prose is exacting, like a surgical blade, cutting away at the layers of the human condition, digging ever deeper into the human heart. She brings her poetic voice to each life, each story. She's a master of fiction in its shortest form.
I'm glad that story collections are finally popular again because they are needed right now. They can inspire and comfort us in an instant, exactly as these stories do.
This is the literary gem of my summer. Let it be yours, too.
I received the ARC of this story collection from its publisher in exchange for this review, but this review expresses my objective opinion.
I asked to review this beautiful poetic collection of stories because I'd rather read a short story each day than take weeks to get through a novel. It caught me and wouldn't let me go, so I finished it in a weekend.
This book is full of real women who are trapped in some way - by longing, by lust, by family allegiance, by society, by grief - to deny some big part of themselves.
From a young woman in the middle of a drought of loneliness healed by an infant's touch:
"My family have been members of the Slocum BaptistChurch for four generations, but I never got religion until Iwent to the Lactation League meeting in Andersonville."
From a woman trying to adjust to her aging body:
"Charlie died of a heart attack at 45. Now she wore plaincotton panties and slept in a t-shirt her nephew had given herwith a picture of Charlie Chaplin on the front. She had neverplanned to be obsolete."
From a woman who wants a man who loves her body as much as she does:
"She never imagined that losing her virginity would be like buying a used race car, something shiny and leek on the outside but broken deep inside."
And from a girl who is trapped into sin through poverty, lust, and lineage:
"Some people are born to sin; others inherit it. I didn’t knowwhich of these I was until I crossed paths with the Cabots."
This book is focused on women, but it's kind to men, too. It's really about the need for human connection, so needed in this time (2020) of enforced isolation. It also reminds us that people need people, no matter what they look like, what they have endured, how old they are. It spoke to me both in terms of my own misfit youth and of my seeming invisibility once I hit my mid-50s.
Yet this collection is one of the spiritual not just the physical, how desire for something more, something outside of ourselves, leads us inward, to that place where no one else can join us. To discover who we truly are.
The author's prose is exacting, like a surgical blade, cutting away at the layers of the human condition, digging ever deeper into the human heart. She brings her poetic voice to each life, each story. She's a master of fiction in its shortest form.
I'm glad that story collections are finally popular again because they are needed right now. They can inspire and comfort us in an instant, exactly as these stories do.
This is the literary gem of my summer. Let it be yours, too.
I received the ARC of this story collection from its publisher in exchange for this review, but this review expresses my objective opinion.
August 9, 2020
When I started this collection of short stories, I was a bit unsure whether the author would be able to actually portray womanhood through a few short stories. It turns out I had nothing to worry about.
The whole experience was a bit ethereal for me, almost like I was a spirit floating through the scenes and inner thoughts of these very different people, gleaning from those experiences a powerful empathy. While the stories were a bit heavy and tended toward melancholy more often than not, there was a certain beauty to them. If I had any doubt about the author's ability to convey such strong emotions and reactions through the format of a short story, that doubt was quelled after the first one, and blown out of the water by the second.
The individual stories are unfolded into the overarching narrative of the many facets that make up the life of the everyday woman's experience and provide quick and satisfying bites of those experiences that can be consumed and reflected upon before moving on to the next. From the somewhat macabre thoughts that would inspire a young girl to a yearly tradition honoring a missing girl that she thought should have been her, to the constraints that a lack of resources would put on the future hopes of a woman, to body image issues, grief and love in unexpected places, Morris expertly guides us through the murky waters of womanhood and all that it encompasses.
If I had to pick at anything, I would have liked to see some sort of timeframe at the beginning of the stories. Generally when there is no set timeframe given, one assumes the present day. But there are stories in this collection that seem like they belong to a time long past, like the story of the sin-eater, Inheritance.
Also, there were stories that featured cameos of characters from others, tying them in together to give you the insight into the small-town life, but a number of stories appeared unrelated to that setting, featuring characters we don't hear any more about. I would have liked to have the stories all revolve around the small-town characters and their inner thoughts and actions, as I feel it would have helped even more to join the individual stories into a collective narrative. That or not have cameos from previous stories' characters at all. But honestly, this is just a Type A thing I think and doesn't take away from any of the emotions evoked reading the book.
Insightful, powerful, evocative, and beautiful, this collection will have you flipping pages long after you should be asleep.
Thank you to Ellen Birkett Morris for gifting me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
The whole experience was a bit ethereal for me, almost like I was a spirit floating through the scenes and inner thoughts of these very different people, gleaning from those experiences a powerful empathy. While the stories were a bit heavy and tended toward melancholy more often than not, there was a certain beauty to them. If I had any doubt about the author's ability to convey such strong emotions and reactions through the format of a short story, that doubt was quelled after the first one, and blown out of the water by the second.
The individual stories are unfolded into the overarching narrative of the many facets that make up the life of the everyday woman's experience and provide quick and satisfying bites of those experiences that can be consumed and reflected upon before moving on to the next. From the somewhat macabre thoughts that would inspire a young girl to a yearly tradition honoring a missing girl that she thought should have been her, to the constraints that a lack of resources would put on the future hopes of a woman, to body image issues, grief and love in unexpected places, Morris expertly guides us through the murky waters of womanhood and all that it encompasses.
If I had to pick at anything, I would have liked to see some sort of timeframe at the beginning of the stories. Generally when there is no set timeframe given, one assumes the present day. But there are stories in this collection that seem like they belong to a time long past, like the story of the sin-eater, Inheritance.
Also, there were stories that featured cameos of characters from others, tying them in together to give you the insight into the small-town life, but a number of stories appeared unrelated to that setting, featuring characters we don't hear any more about. I would have liked to have the stories all revolve around the small-town characters and their inner thoughts and actions, as I feel it would have helped even more to join the individual stories into a collective narrative. That or not have cameos from previous stories' characters at all. But honestly, this is just a Type A thing I think and doesn't take away from any of the emotions evoked reading the book.
Insightful, powerful, evocative, and beautiful, this collection will have you flipping pages long after you should be asleep.
Thank you to Ellen Birkett Morris for gifting me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
January 27, 2021
Ellen Birkett Morris transports you to a different era, when time slides by in little moments and their consequences take your breath away. Her stories twist from everyday authenticity to imaginative surprises.
Her writing grips:
“I felt like a vulture feasting on the entrails of some small, soft animal that had gotten in the way, but I knew I was that small, soft animal and Daniel wouldn’t quit visiting me at night until nothing was left of me but a crimson stain on the floor.”
My favorite tale was sweet "Harvest," in which Abby discovers she can't restore youth by removing all her mirrors, but finds that human connection can.
Her writing grips:
“I felt like a vulture feasting on the entrails of some small, soft animal that had gotten in the way, but I knew I was that small, soft animal and Daniel wouldn’t quit visiting me at night until nothing was left of me but a crimson stain on the floor.”
My favorite tale was sweet "Harvest," in which Abby discovers she can't restore youth by removing all her mirrors, but finds that human connection can.
August 25, 2020
Fantastic short stories about half the sky---women!
August 29, 2020
A very intimate series of shorts. Sentimental, reflective, and emotional.
September 29, 2020
“Lost Girls: Short Stories” by Ellen Birkett Morris is a gorgeous collection of interrelated short stories about girls and women, written with sensitivity and an astute awareness of the human condition. The prose is eloquent, though often the phrases appear disarmingly simple yet manage to convey profound complexities. It’s no wonder that one of these stories was nominated for a prestigious Pushcart Prize as all the stories in the collection shine with clarity and fearlessness. Be prepared, though, some of these stories have a gut-punch quality about them.
Morris, whose fiction has appeared in numerous respected literary publications such as Shenandoah, Antioch Review, South Carolina Review, writes with the precision of a poet, which she is also. That each word matters to her in her writing is apparent.
But when all the literary praise is done, what remains are captivating stories about ordinary females caught up in living their lives. Morris immerses readers so quickly and completely in the stories that there is both a “you are there” quality and a “what happens next?” tension. Many stories are set in Slocum, and there are some recurring characters such as the lovely librarian, Miss Allen, and the aging owner of a candy store, Abby Linder. While both Abby and Miss Allen earn their own individual story, having them reappear as minor characters in other stories creates a kind of living-in-a-small-town reality, where the piecemeal, separate but interwoven lives of those around you add up a new kind of whole.
The sentences in these stories are lush and rich yet can evoke quite a pang. Consider: “She never imagined that losing her virginity would be like buying a used race car, something shiny and sleek on the outside but broken deep inside.” There’s also an intelligently dry wit in the stories, as in “Mama believed in God’s final judgment, but I wasn’t sure it was wise to leave it up to Him, what with his reputation for mercy and all.” And Morris can quite hit the nail on the head with phrases like “Our society has a special fondness for women who suffer, especially when their suffering is public.”
All in all, an excellent, eloquent book well worth your reading it. I was so taken with several of the stories that once I knew “what happened,” I returned to read them for the sheer beauty of the ng itself.
Morris, whose fiction has appeared in numerous respected literary publications such as Shenandoah, Antioch Review, South Carolina Review, writes with the precision of a poet, which she is also. That each word matters to her in her writing is apparent.
But when all the literary praise is done, what remains are captivating stories about ordinary females caught up in living their lives. Morris immerses readers so quickly and completely in the stories that there is both a “you are there” quality and a “what happens next?” tension. Many stories are set in Slocum, and there are some recurring characters such as the lovely librarian, Miss Allen, and the aging owner of a candy store, Abby Linder. While both Abby and Miss Allen earn their own individual story, having them reappear as minor characters in other stories creates a kind of living-in-a-small-town reality, where the piecemeal, separate but interwoven lives of those around you add up a new kind of whole.
The sentences in these stories are lush and rich yet can evoke quite a pang. Consider: “She never imagined that losing her virginity would be like buying a used race car, something shiny and sleek on the outside but broken deep inside.” There’s also an intelligently dry wit in the stories, as in “Mama believed in God’s final judgment, but I wasn’t sure it was wise to leave it up to Him, what with his reputation for mercy and all.” And Morris can quite hit the nail on the head with phrases like “Our society has a special fondness for women who suffer, especially when their suffering is public.”
All in all, an excellent, eloquent book well worth your reading it. I was so taken with several of the stories that once I knew “what happened,” I returned to read them for the sheer beauty of the ng itself.
April 13, 2021
Lost Girls is a powerful collection of short stories about the challenges and joys of womanhood. The collection explores topics like grief, self-acceptance, love, the pain of loss, trauma, violation, and more. I was so engrossed in and moved by these stories and the women introduced that I found it difficult to put the book down.
The book looks at womanhood in a deep and varied way and follows different women trying to find their way in an often unforgiving patriarchal society. I was gripped from the first story, which is inspired by the kidnapping of a local girl in the author’s community when she was a teen. Each short story focuses on different people and topics, but they are connected in their examination of the complexities and difficulties of being a woman. I love how each story is distinct and stands on its own even though they are united in theme and setting.
The stories encompass a plethora of topics relevant to women: dreams and disappointments, love and loss, longing and betrayal, grieving over the death of a child and other loved ones, trying to find oneself or redefine one’s life, reflecting on life and missed chances, seeing the beauty in the small things, wanting to belong and to be heard, experiencing emotional and sexual violation, and more. The stories don’t shy away from the harsh realities of life, nor does it make light of the consequences that stem from being a woman in a male-dominated society. This isn’t to say that all men are depicted negatively, as there are many good men in the book. However, the focus is on women and their realities, which are often complex, confusing, and relatable.
The author’s writing flows beautifully and makes for an immersive read. There’s a simplicity to the writing that is eloquent, nuanced, and meaningful. The words and construction feel carefully chosen and have a strong impact on their ease and relatability. I found myself pausing at the end of each story and reflecting on the characters, their lives, and the messages of the piece. It’s definitely the type of collection, rife with poignancy, that moves the reader in many ways.
I’m so thankful to Ellen Birkett Morris for providing me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. This is such a powerful and evocative read, and I know I’ll think about these stories for a long time to come.
The book looks at womanhood in a deep and varied way and follows different women trying to find their way in an often unforgiving patriarchal society. I was gripped from the first story, which is inspired by the kidnapping of a local girl in the author’s community when she was a teen. Each short story focuses on different people and topics, but they are connected in their examination of the complexities and difficulties of being a woman. I love how each story is distinct and stands on its own even though they are united in theme and setting.
The stories encompass a plethora of topics relevant to women: dreams and disappointments, love and loss, longing and betrayal, grieving over the death of a child and other loved ones, trying to find oneself or redefine one’s life, reflecting on life and missed chances, seeing the beauty in the small things, wanting to belong and to be heard, experiencing emotional and sexual violation, and more. The stories don’t shy away from the harsh realities of life, nor does it make light of the consequences that stem from being a woman in a male-dominated society. This isn’t to say that all men are depicted negatively, as there are many good men in the book. However, the focus is on women and their realities, which are often complex, confusing, and relatable.
The author’s writing flows beautifully and makes for an immersive read. There’s a simplicity to the writing that is eloquent, nuanced, and meaningful. The words and construction feel carefully chosen and have a strong impact on their ease and relatability. I found myself pausing at the end of each story and reflecting on the characters, their lives, and the messages of the piece. It’s definitely the type of collection, rife with poignancy, that moves the reader in many ways.
I’m so thankful to Ellen Birkett Morris for providing me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. This is such a powerful and evocative read, and I know I’ll think about these stories for a long time to come.
October 15, 2020
The individual stories in Lost Girls vary in subject matter and trauma. However, the differences only point out that younger women, especially, are particularly vulnerable to society’s ills. Ellen Birkett Morris has written an eye-opening book for all ages, one that will be treasured especially by those lost girls who are never validated or acknowledged.
August 22, 2020
I started reading one or two stories at a time and soon I couldn’t put this book down! Each story shines a light on moving through the world as a woman, and the characters are beautifully authentic. I’ll be reading this collection again.
July 26, 2020
This amazing little collection of stories will leave you looking at the feminine in a deeper light. Told in plain language and with a matter-of-fact tone, the narratives, for the most part in the first person, examine the consequences of being female in a culture decidedly skewed toward the masculine. From the opening tale, titled the same as the collection, to the final offering "Swimming," the reader is drawn into the events which shape women's lives. In "Lost Girls," the unnamed narrator recounts the disappearance of a young girl in her town and how that singular event shaped the narrator's life going forward. The final tale chronicles the small-town events of a number of men and women and how their desires and disappointments affect their lives. The stories reside like beads on a necklace, each one singular yet together a complete and beautiful strand.
August 31, 2020
A panoply of girls and women facing the hardships encountered in a culture that privileges men, wealth, confidence ... They may be lost as their stories begin, but they each find a way by the end.
January 9, 2021
I haven’t read a collection of short stories in awhile, but I’m glad I chose this one. It was a very satisfying read that made you think about all the ways a person (especially a woman) can end up “lost”.
November 4, 2020
Lost Girls is a powerful collection of short stories that beats with an aching heart of nostalgia while exploring issues of identity, longing, loss, and grief. Birkett Morris parses female experiences with such care and nuance that emotion radiates through the pages to bring to life the characters in all of their desires and contradictions. Setting and place, never perfunctory, color landscapes with poignant hues of memory. I was moved by these stories, transported away into their worlds as I heeded their gentle calls for inward reflection.
October 14, 2020
Ellen Birkett Morris’ collection of short stories, Lost Girls, pulled me in from the very beginning title story about a local teenager who disappeared, narrated by a young woman obsessed with remembering her own volatile childhood during which she fantasized about being kidnapped herself. The second one, “Inheritance,” tells the haunting story of a teen forced to have sex regularly with the son of a wealthy family to save her starving family. As the story opens, she’s called to enact a ritual passed down to her in which she eats the sins of her abuser’s mother who died. In the third story, “Religion,” a lonely thirty-year-old virgin inadvertently enters a lactation meeting at her church. She pretends she too has a baby she’s breastfeeding, and finds herself deeply connected to the young mothers.
These stories all center on women at various stages and struggles in their life, women both “lost” and “found” in various ways, dealing with poverty, love, lust, loss, grief, self-acceptance, aging—all connected by a common theme of longing for connection. Birkett’s writing resonates with vivid sensory details and an ability to illuminate these women’s lives, revealing their inner thoughts, desires, and regrets, so that the reader fully inhabits their worlds. These unforgettable stories are told with a powerful sense of intimacy, curiosity, compassion, vulnerability, and reverence.
These stories all center on women at various stages and struggles in their life, women both “lost” and “found” in various ways, dealing with poverty, love, lust, loss, grief, self-acceptance, aging—all connected by a common theme of longing for connection. Birkett’s writing resonates with vivid sensory details and an ability to illuminate these women’s lives, revealing their inner thoughts, desires, and regrets, so that the reader fully inhabits their worlds. These unforgettable stories are told with a powerful sense of intimacy, curiosity, compassion, vulnerability, and reverence.
October 21, 2020
A lovely collection of short stories subtly showing you what it is like to experience the world through girlhood and womanhood. The friendship, the love, the loss, the grief, the trauma, the new (and old) connections it is all there. I found myself in all the girls and women in these stories.
September 16, 2020
Lost Girls is a collection of short stories, each one about a different woman in various stages of life and situations.
It tells of grief, family, love and lust, of aging and poverty.
But at its heart it’s about what it’s like being a woman in a masculine world,
It’s full of emotion and sensitivity, it feels so real and relatable.
Beautifully written, almost poetic at times and really is a quite captivating read.
Thank you to Ellen Birkett Morris for a copy of Lost Girls. This is my honest and unbiased review.
It tells of grief, family, love and lust, of aging and poverty.
But at its heart it’s about what it’s like being a woman in a masculine world,
It’s full of emotion and sensitivity, it feels so real and relatable.
Beautifully written, almost poetic at times and really is a quite captivating read.
Thank you to Ellen Birkett Morris for a copy of Lost Girls. This is my honest and unbiased review.
November 8, 2020
The common thread of Ellen Birkett Morris's short stories is women: what they feel, their fear, pain, oppression, resilience. The depth of their humanity. Their childhood fears, the ones that never really go away.
These stories are breathtakingly raw. They make you hurt, yet somehow, just be reading them and relating to them, you feel stronger. And seen.
I thoroughly enjoyed these stories, and wholeheartedly look forward to Ms. Morris's next effort.
Bravo!
These stories are breathtakingly raw. They make you hurt, yet somehow, just be reading them and relating to them, you feel stronger. And seen.
I thoroughly enjoyed these stories, and wholeheartedly look forward to Ms. Morris's next effort.
Bravo!
December 1, 2020
Lost Girls, by Ellen Birkett Morris, first pulled me in with the title. Then, the cover image of a barefoot girl balancing on the track of the railroad, which is also known as the “permanent way,” got me curious. Where is she going? She seems naïve: no shoes, no protection. Yet, she’s on that structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, and railroad ties. It’s a dependable surface for trains; why not for her?
If this girl is lost, maybe we need to follow her. She’s lively, carefree with a sense of adventure, perched on the rail in her Sunday-best red polka-dot dress. Where will she take us?
This collection of seventeen short stories celebrates women of all ages for their resilience, determination and fortitude. Each story is unique as you meet backwoods girls with unfamiliar challenges or small-town girls with secrets never to be revealed. You’ll revisit the pain of adolescence and the first time you learned that people don’t all follow the rules. You are invited to peek into intimate girlhood friendships, women dealing with childhood fears, singleness, childlessness, aging, grief, and betrayal.
Would you be naïve yet smart enough to take a warning and brave enough to leave? In one story, I connected with the thirteen-year-old late bloomer who learns about lies and deceit as a bond of trust is broken. In another, you can judge for yourself if it’s alright to live for the moment and appreciate it for all it’s worth. You will meet sisters struggling to make life work after losing their mother and distraught mothers leaving girls to figure it out for themselves.
You’ll recognize yourself, a friend, a cousin, or perhaps a stranger, and come away reminded of our innocence and our soul. You will be inspired as each girl or woman finds her own strength, just like the girl balancing on the rail of the permanent way. Isn’t life just like that? A balance of stability, a search for permanence in relationships? I recommend that you read Lost Girls. These stories will capture you.
Story Circle Network thanks Eileen Harrison Sanchez for this review.
If this girl is lost, maybe we need to follow her. She’s lively, carefree with a sense of adventure, perched on the rail in her Sunday-best red polka-dot dress. Where will she take us?
This collection of seventeen short stories celebrates women of all ages for their resilience, determination and fortitude. Each story is unique as you meet backwoods girls with unfamiliar challenges or small-town girls with secrets never to be revealed. You’ll revisit the pain of adolescence and the first time you learned that people don’t all follow the rules. You are invited to peek into intimate girlhood friendships, women dealing with childhood fears, singleness, childlessness, aging, grief, and betrayal.
Would you be naïve yet smart enough to take a warning and brave enough to leave? In one story, I connected with the thirteen-year-old late bloomer who learns about lies and deceit as a bond of trust is broken. In another, you can judge for yourself if it’s alright to live for the moment and appreciate it for all it’s worth. You will meet sisters struggling to make life work after losing their mother and distraught mothers leaving girls to figure it out for themselves.
You’ll recognize yourself, a friend, a cousin, or perhaps a stranger, and come away reminded of our innocence and our soul. You will be inspired as each girl or woman finds her own strength, just like the girl balancing on the rail of the permanent way. Isn’t life just like that? A balance of stability, a search for permanence in relationships? I recommend that you read Lost Girls. These stories will capture you.
Story Circle Network thanks Eileen Harrison Sanchez for this review.
December 24, 2022
Lost Girls is a compact, highly readable collection of short stories about girls in distress, girls in and out of control, girls who miss their chance and girls who go too far, but always girls who portray with immediacy and emotional depth both the vulnerability and the power of the feminine. Though some of them may be victimized, none of these characters are victims. They instead personify the resiliency that we, the parents, the children, the communities, and of course, the men—and particularly those of us in small town America—demand of our women and girls. In that sense, these stories of women and girls are actually stories of our essential humanity, delivered with Birkett Morris's remarkable facility for the short, poignant narrative. Five stars, absolutely.
June 20, 2021
Ellen Birkett Morris knows human beings. I mean, she really understands us.
In each beautifully-written story, we follow the ordinariness of a person confronted by life’s longings, loneliness, aging, and sorrows.
But what really makes this collection stand out are the delightful, interesting, and surprising twists the characters take in response to their life situations.
Birkett Morris’ is a good storyteller. I loved her writing.
In each beautifully-written story, we follow the ordinariness of a person confronted by life’s longings, loneliness, aging, and sorrows.
But what really makes this collection stand out are the delightful, interesting, and surprising twists the characters take in response to their life situations.
Birkett Morris’ is a good storyteller. I loved her writing.
February 10, 2021
I find it hard to rate short story collections because each story is so different. Overall, these stories were well-written and compelling and some even shocking.
March 27, 2021
Thoroughly enjoyed this small book of interconnected short stories on all things in the female experience
November 21, 2020
Wow. I just closed the last chapter of this collection of short stories and am still thinking through each of the stories. I will be reading again shortly. It was beautiful in the most human way and each story brought a different experience to mind. In a time when loss and separation is more present than ever - this collection is more needed and relatable than we would have ever known. Highly recommend.
April 8, 2021
A well-written collection of short stories featuring the stories of women and girls. Each protagonist needs to navigate a central issue: grief, acceptance, loss, identity. Each story is gripping, with unique and original characters. I enjoyed the collection as a whole and felt a personal connection with several of the stories and themes presented. The stories are nuanced and memorable and at 140 pages, it’s a satisfying afternoon’s read.
(I received an ARC for an honest review.)
(I received an ARC for an honest review.)
January 14, 2021
This is a brilliant collection. Morris is an incredibly skilled writer, creating quietly devastating, insightful stories which mine the lives of women and girls to build up a profound, unflinching picture of all the quirks and hurts wrapped up in everyday experiences. These stories ring absolutely true: they are shockingly perceptive, deeply probing, intelligent, and above all, beautifully written. I have spoken before about the ‘short story pang’, when you recognise a truth you’d never seen expressed before – Lost Girls delivers this feeling in spades.
It’s hard to pick out individual stories as favourites, as one of the most exciting features of this collection is the way it subtly builds, circling back to characters and situations, each new story adding to what has come before while standing apart from it. However, if I had to highlight the stories I am most keen to revisit, they would certainly include ‘Religion’ (a stunning example of the deeply unsettling seam that runs through these stories), ‘Life After,’ in which a grieving mother is depicted with almost unbearable poignancy, ‘Helter Skelter,’ ‘Neverland,’ and ‘Emoticon.’ The latter is one of the shortest stories in the book, and the one that reminded me of Mary South’s debut collection, You Will Never Be Forgotten, which I read last year and loved.
Morris’ writing combines the sharp, modern tang of writers such as Mary South and Lauren Groff with a sensibility that reminds me of Alice Munro’s work: a depth rather than breadth of subject, repeating themes and situations (and the specific location of Slocum) to chisel away at the veneer of mundanity that covers over all of the deep, dark truths that these stories expose. Like Munro, Morris seems to be documenting rather than inventing, so close does her work seem to the truth of female experience. It is a remarkable, beautifully crafted achievement, like a sculpture carved from natural materials, revealing shapes hidden beneath the surface.
As you can tell, I am in awe of Morris’ skill as a short story writer. She is so assured and confident with this powerful form, and Lost Girls is really something very special. This is a collection to be savoured and revisited, and I can’t wait to read more from this talented author. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for vivid, profound, beautifully written short stories with an edge.
It’s hard to pick out individual stories as favourites, as one of the most exciting features of this collection is the way it subtly builds, circling back to characters and situations, each new story adding to what has come before while standing apart from it. However, if I had to highlight the stories I am most keen to revisit, they would certainly include ‘Religion’ (a stunning example of the deeply unsettling seam that runs through these stories), ‘Life After,’ in which a grieving mother is depicted with almost unbearable poignancy, ‘Helter Skelter,’ ‘Neverland,’ and ‘Emoticon.’ The latter is one of the shortest stories in the book, and the one that reminded me of Mary South’s debut collection, You Will Never Be Forgotten, which I read last year and loved.
Morris’ writing combines the sharp, modern tang of writers such as Mary South and Lauren Groff with a sensibility that reminds me of Alice Munro’s work: a depth rather than breadth of subject, repeating themes and situations (and the specific location of Slocum) to chisel away at the veneer of mundanity that covers over all of the deep, dark truths that these stories expose. Like Munro, Morris seems to be documenting rather than inventing, so close does her work seem to the truth of female experience. It is a remarkable, beautifully crafted achievement, like a sculpture carved from natural materials, revealing shapes hidden beneath the surface.
As you can tell, I am in awe of Morris’ skill as a short story writer. She is so assured and confident with this powerful form, and Lost Girls is really something very special. This is a collection to be savoured and revisited, and I can’t wait to read more from this talented author. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for vivid, profound, beautifully written short stories with an edge.
May 10, 2021
A beautiful, many-sided gaze on women's lives.
I am a solidly entrenched reader of essay and memoir but Morris’ full spectrum gaze on women’s experience in the short stories of “Lost Girls” appealed to me enough to change lanes. These stories are a beautiful, poignant and surprisingly welcome change of view. Morris deftly captures the tiny truths of women lives and magnifies them for us to see in a new way.
I am a solidly entrenched reader of essay and memoir but Morris’ full spectrum gaze on women’s experience in the short stories of “Lost Girls” appealed to me enough to change lanes. These stories are a beautiful, poignant and surprisingly welcome change of view. Morris deftly captures the tiny truths of women lives and magnifies them for us to see in a new way.
January 11, 2021
Review of Lost Girls
In the first story, a 13-year-old girl is literally “lost” to the world because she is abducted. But in this and the other stories, many interconnected by their setting in the small Southern town of Slocum, girls are metaphorically “lost” because they lose the innocence we associate with girlhood, through the vicious or thoughtless acts of the people around them. This motif runs through these tales, intertwined with themes of teenage anxiety, identity, race, sexuality, aging, parenthood, dependence, violence, and infidelity. Having grown up in the ‘70s and ‘80s, I felt anchored in the period by Morris's adept feathering in of details—the musical Bye, Bye, Birdie, Alice from the Brady Bunch, the Kodak Instamatic with Magicube flash, the TV shows Welcome Back, Kotter and Bewitched, dodge ball, and the horrid blue-and-white striped polyester gym uniforms. I remember them well! Yet I was also intrigued by references to aspects of Southern culture that were wholly unfamiliar to me—e.g., the “bottle tree,” in which empty open bottles hung from branches make sorrowful sounds when the wind blows; and the “sin eater,” a person who sits by a dead body and eats a “corpse cake” to take on the sins of the dead. Morris’s language feels frank and fresh: “She stood on the bar as she swayed from side to side. She was losing her religion—right there in front of everybody.” He had “a cleft in his chin, as if God had picked him special and run a fingernail through his chin before his face was set.” Taken together, the stories in this evocative, often devastating, collection explore a range of women’s experiences, the various losses we suffer privately and collectively, and the ways we sublimate and transcend those losses over time.
In the first story, a 13-year-old girl is literally “lost” to the world because she is abducted. But in this and the other stories, many interconnected by their setting in the small Southern town of Slocum, girls are metaphorically “lost” because they lose the innocence we associate with girlhood, through the vicious or thoughtless acts of the people around them. This motif runs through these tales, intertwined with themes of teenage anxiety, identity, race, sexuality, aging, parenthood, dependence, violence, and infidelity. Having grown up in the ‘70s and ‘80s, I felt anchored in the period by Morris's adept feathering in of details—the musical Bye, Bye, Birdie, Alice from the Brady Bunch, the Kodak Instamatic with Magicube flash, the TV shows Welcome Back, Kotter and Bewitched, dodge ball, and the horrid blue-and-white striped polyester gym uniforms. I remember them well! Yet I was also intrigued by references to aspects of Southern culture that were wholly unfamiliar to me—e.g., the “bottle tree,” in which empty open bottles hung from branches make sorrowful sounds when the wind blows; and the “sin eater,” a person who sits by a dead body and eats a “corpse cake” to take on the sins of the dead. Morris’s language feels frank and fresh: “She stood on the bar as she swayed from side to side. She was losing her religion—right there in front of everybody.” He had “a cleft in his chin, as if God had picked him special and run a fingernail through his chin before his face was set.” Taken together, the stories in this evocative, often devastating, collection explore a range of women’s experiences, the various losses we suffer privately and collectively, and the ways we sublimate and transcend those losses over time.
December 5, 2020
Lost Girls is a debut short story collection which explores a wide range of loss experienced by female protagonists, while also considering how they attempt to move forward, forge new paths, or simply survive in the face of challenges unique to women.
Like many short story collections, there were some stories this reader liked better than others. Some favorites of mine include: “Inheritance,” “Harvest,” “Life After,” and “Skipping Stones.” These stories explore how women are used and then take their power back, aging, self-reflection and self-worth, the loss of a child, first infatuations, and the loss of innocence, among other topics which will resound with women.
All of the stories are easy to engage with, quick reads. A stylistic choice the author makes in many of the stories is an ending which often felt too abrupt to this reader. While I understand why this choice was made, it worked sometimes for me and not others. Overall, Morris is a skilled writer. The characters and scenes she developed in this collection are well-rounded, thought-provoking, and relatable. Many women are sure to enjoy this one!
Thanks to the author for providing a free digital copy to read and review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
Like many short story collections, there were some stories this reader liked better than others. Some favorites of mine include: “Inheritance,” “Harvest,” “Life After,” and “Skipping Stones.” These stories explore how women are used and then take their power back, aging, self-reflection and self-worth, the loss of a child, first infatuations, and the loss of innocence, among other topics which will resound with women.
All of the stories are easy to engage with, quick reads. A stylistic choice the author makes in many of the stories is an ending which often felt too abrupt to this reader. While I understand why this choice was made, it worked sometimes for me and not others. Overall, Morris is a skilled writer. The characters and scenes she developed in this collection are well-rounded, thought-provoking, and relatable. Many women are sure to enjoy this one!
Thanks to the author for providing a free digital copy to read and review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
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