A Map to Mercy
an essay by Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew
Winner of The 2023 Orison Chapbook Prize
*Available for pre-order*
Orison Books
paper / 30 pp. / $14.00
Print ISBN: 978-1-949039-66-5
E-book ISBN: 978-1-949039-67-2Publication Date: August 5, 2025
ABOUT THE BOOK
A dream about death saturates Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew with mystical silence. But when the silence leaves, she flounders through Christian contemplative prayer practices, wrangling with antiquated language and hard-to-stomach theology. Much to her surprise, she finds the essence of silence in the concept of mercy. Here is a literary rendering of one seeker's winding path into the great womb of creation.
PRAISE
"A Map to Mercy is a mighty essay. Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew's effortless prose carries the reader into the beating heart of contemplative practice, honoring the wisdom of religious traditions that call to her in the hubbub of daily life. Andrew electrifies the pages with the precision of a poet and the eye of a mystic, inviting all to see that mercy ripples out from the center of our being.”
—Paul Swanson, host of Contemplify and Manager of Faculty Relations and Development at the Center for Action and Contemplation
"Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew has dedicated years to her spiritual search and practice, seeking a connection to the sacred despite her life’s swirl of distraction. A Map to Mercy describes her desire for silence and contemplation within an active life, for an emptying out of her self as a means to fulfillment. Ultimately, she shows us how the ancient Christian practice of Centering Prayer became for her a means to grace and, yes, mercy. Her map to mercy is her own, but her meditative honesty assures readers that with trust and time enough, they will discover theirs."
—Lynn Domina, author of Corporal Works, Framed in Silence, and Inland Sea
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew is the author of Swinging on the Garden Gate: A Memoir of Bisexuality & Spirit, now in its second edition; the novel Hannah, Delivered; a collection of personal essays, On the Threshold: Home, Hardwood, and Holiness; and three books on writing: Writing the Sacred Journey: The Art and Practice of Spiritual Memoir; Living Revision: A Writer’s Craft as Spiritual Practice; and The Release: Finding Creativity and Freedom After the Writing is Done. She is a founding member of The Eye of the Heart Center, where she teaches writing as a transformational practice. She is a recipient of two Minnesota State Arts Board artists’ fellowships, The Loft Career Initiative Grant, and is a Minnesota Book Awards finalist. She lives in Minneapolis with her wife, daughter, and two rambunctious cats.