The caged bird sings with a fearful trill,
of things unknown but longed for still,
and his tune is heard on the distant hill,
for the caged bird sings of freedom.
-Maya Angelou
Garrett Drew Ellis
Owner, Writer, End of Life Doula
Writing and finding himself in the field of memoir, remembrance, death and grief for as long as he can remember, Garrett Drew Ellis established himself as a professional writer in 2005 and as an End of Life Doula in 2019. That same year, Garrett founded Beyond Morning, offering doula and storytelling services after receiving training from INELDA (The International End of Life Doula Association).
Garrett studied English at Central CT State University and has been a ghostwriter and author for almost 20 years. He has been a hospice volunteer. The author of “Write Until You Feel Better”, the forthcoming, “In Memoriam” and the forthcoming “On Blood & Water”, Garrett speaks at workshops, leads groups and works with individuals to process death and grief, document their lives and to help them do the same for others.
My mother died when I was young, before I truly got to know her. All my life, people shared stories about her, stories about who she was before her death. Because of that constant practice of storytelling and remembrance, I had ease in my moments of grief. Stories about her felt like a cool cloth on a feverish forehead.
A valuable part of my grieving process, that experience taught me to believe strongly in two things: that death doesn't truly happen until our stories are no longer told and that everyone deserves support during the dying and grieving process. No one should live or die alone. Beyond Morning is my attempt to offer people two sacred chances that I wish I had more of: the chance to document and share their life's story and the gift of support to engage death and grief in as peaceful of a way as possible.
