Elle Mott writes creative nonfiction focused on resiliency, empowerment, and advocacy. She is the author of three books: Out of Chaos, A Memoir (Boyle & Dalton, 2018), People Helping People (2020), and Marie Conner, A Leading Lady (Luminare Press, 2026). She also co-authored the upcoming anthology When Women Talk: Notes From the Future, coming in October from Canadian publisher The Connected Woman. Elle works at the downtown Cincinnati public library and dedicates her free time to her passion for writing. She lives in Northern Kentucky with two cats and several pet birds. Learn more.
What past event do you often reflect upon, and how did that event change you?
The opening page to my first book, my memoir, describes an event and yet it was just another typical day for me in that year of my life when in between hitchhiking rides. Still, I often pinch myself in keen awareness that today, life is much different. From page 1 of my memoir: “Burnt orange rays flatline on the horizon…. standing on the sidewalk at an intersection for the crosswalk light to change. Traffic passes by on this balmy evening in April 1993, somewhere deep in Midwest America. Makes no difference where exactly…. I have no pictures, no heirlooms, and no keys to the past.”
How does your work add to the quality of your life?
My writing life came not only after that day but also in response to others when years later, I’d tell how I overcame turmoil through sheer will and action –– that plus, my memories of my matriarch, who had been a well-accomplished woman, gave me strength for my renewed life. All this led me to write my memoir and then after, my matriarch’s story of her own resilience. Writing has proven to be a vital asset for me to process my past, to make peace with my mistakes, and more so, to have acceptance for hardships I had endured when in the wake of those mistakes.
Tell us a story you would like to share with the world.
Although my matriarch, Marie, had influenced my formative years, she did not live to see how my life unfolded. Reflection causes me to revisit my little girl days, remembering antiquated pictures of her civic life –– pictures I no longer have. Her words of wisdom permeated me. In my questioning as to why she was influential, answers came through research. I discovered that Marie had been a remarkable woman whose generosity shaped her community for the better more. My matriarch’s story is one of fierce commitment through every day acts of courage and care. Marie’s historical legacy is the story I want to share with the world through the book I have written of her life.
Author photo: Courtesy of author
Side bar image: Pixabay/Edar
