Kellie Schorr works as a novelist who writes mystery genre novels. Her published credentials also include: journal articles, short stories, and a two-year stint writing for a web-comic. Kellie’s debut literary novel, The Space Between Breaths, will be published by Brother Mockingbird in early 2025. Practicing in the Nyingma Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, Kellie is a personal student of Dr. Pema Khandro Rinpoche and member of the Vajra Sangha of the Buddhist Studies Institute. She lives and works in rural Virginia with her partner, Cathy, and their beagles. Her favorite word is chiaroscuro. You can contact or find more about her at Kellieschorr.com
Waiting for a Flood: The Difference Between Weakness, Vulnerability, and the Bullies Around Us
By Kellie Schorr “Are you waiting for a flood?” I was never bullied as a kid. When the topic of bullies comes up and I reveal I was not a target, people generally look surprised. I had all the attributes of “bully bait.” I was the...
A Tale of Two Lamas: Surya Das, Sexual Misconduct, and The Stories We Tell
By Kellie Schorr “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the...
Politics and Prayer Beads: Finding the Path in Portland and Beyond
By Kellie Schorr It was a time of war. Acrid smoke stung the nose of the terrified woman cradling her infant son, huddled behind a wooden cart while the thatched roof of her home burns, billowing her dreams into the sky along with her...
That Breathing Thing: What to Remember Before You Burn The Bridge
By Kellie Schorr My father worked for a defense contractor so we moved every two years. They weren’t little moves from one side of town to the other. They were big honking cultural change kinds of moves---the Marshall Islands to North...
Masks, Monuments, and Moments: How to Become a Great Ancestor
By Kellie Schorr I was walking out of the grocery store on this simmering summer day, a bead of sweat edging toward my gray cloth mask with a coffee filter inside, when I saw her. She was tiny compared to my six-foot frame, inching step...
Please Stop Teaching Me
By Kellie Schorr This used to be on the top 5 list of things I never thought I’d say. But, here it is: Please stop teaching me. I tried to treat this thought in the Buddhist method of dealing with arising feelings---greet it, and let it...
Buyers Beware: Dharma is not a Good Day Job
By Kellie Schorr “Dharma is not a career. Dharma is our life.” Ven. Thubten Chodron, Awaken Every Day The first job I ever had was collecting aluminum cans and selling them by the pound. Recycling was a new idea then and...
Nothing I Say Feels Right: Navigating Ally Confusion in a Volatile Time
By Kellie Schorr “Help me to breathe in “I Can’t Breathe” and breathe out compassionHelp me to breathe in “I Can’t Breathe” and breathe out educationHelp me to breathe in “I Can’t Breathe” and breathe out altruistic actionHelp me to breathe in “I Can’t Breathe”...
The Days of Open Hand: When You Simply Can’t Forgive
By Kellie Schorr May You Be is a 4-week series designed to coincide with the “Metta in May” theme going on through the month of May. Each week looks at one of the statements of the Loving Kindness recitation. May you dwell in safety May...
Ex-Friends and Lovers: Letting Go of the Really Long-Term Relationship
By Kellie Schorr May You Be is a 4-week series designed to coincide with the “Metta in May” theme going on through the month of May. Each week looks at one of the statements of the Loving Kindness recitation. May you dwell in...
The Walking Wounded: On Being Sick and Well
By Kellie Schorr May You Be is a 4-week series designed to coincide with the “Metta in May” theme going on through the month of May. Each week looks at one of the statements of the Loving Kindness recitation. May you dwell...
Panic Room: Creating a Safe Space from Invasive Thoughts
By Kellie Schorr May You Be is a 4-week series designed to coincide with the “Metta in May” theme going on through the month of May. Each week looks at one of the statements of the Loving Kindness recitation. May you dwell in...
A Diamond in The Sand: Living is Dying: How to Prepare for Death, Dying, and Beyond by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse {Review}
By Kellie Schorr The unexpected is always uncomfortable. Imagine walking barefoot across a beach on a sunlit day. The soft sand compresses beneath your feet and squeezes up between your toes, leaving just a dusting of presence on the top...
Remembering GRID in the time of Coronavirus: Learning from “Then” in the Now
By Kellie Schorr My friend David died of GRID.As a freshman in college when I met David, I was quiet, nerdy, and overwhelmed with the sudden liberation life after high school seemed to offer. He was funny, dramatic, smart and free---so very free---in the...
The Problem with “Bootstraps” and Why We Should Compassionately Let Them Go
By Kellie Schorr “Before you ask me any kind of medical question you should probably know that my family is from Appalachia,” I warn people poised to talk to me about their ailment. “I cure everything with vinegar.” Or mint...