Press Release

“People call it ‘abundance,’” says Glenn Morisonwhen describing the unusual way he is launching his new book, The Things We Say. “It starts with appreciating what you have, which leads to investing in what you have and sharing it with others. This is what I am trying to do with this book release.”

Instead of selling The Things We Say,Morison is giving it away and asking people to make a donation towards affordable housing. “Maybe people could think of it as if they were sponsoring me in a ‘write-a-thon’ – a penny for every sentence could be covered by a $40 donation.” He asks people to donate the money to The Winnipeg Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), which is raising these funds to sponsor a share purchase in The Old Grace Housing Co-op. This purchase will make a unit more affordable for low income residents. “I am so excited,” says Morison. “This event supports both trans-formative one-on-one relationships and the bricks and mortar needed to make lasting change.”

Morison is a member of the Old Grace Housing Cooperative, a United Church Minister, a Quaker and a former correctional chaplain. He has devoted his life to working with marginalized people. While working in the prison system, he encountered the margins of the margins. There, he often met with people who tried to manoeuvre through exceptionally difficult times by uttering slogans that no longer had any real worth for them. On the other hand, some sayings provided real sustenance and direction for people in need. These experiences inspired him to write The Things We Say.

In The Things We Say Morison examines – and questions –common wisdom, proverbs and slogans we hear and use every day.Many are “old saws” whose truth we take for granted, such as “easier said than done,”“grin and bear it,” “more is better,” and “ignorance is bliss.” Morison invites us to engage in fresh ways with these and many other familiar phrases, and to ponder whether they still ring true on close scrutiny. He delves into the origins of each adage, who has used it,and how it relates to Quaker values as well as Biblical wisdom.He refers often to his work in prisons, and how these sayings can help people, or not, through dire circumstances. On this journey Morison ushers us through swaths of literature, scripture, history and philosophy with language that is both clear and engrossing.

Morison calls himself as an “extroverted writer”; he seeks feedback in his work from as many people as he can. He was especially encouraged by the writer in residence at the University of Winnipeg, who said of The Things We say, “It is like each page is the start of a play I could write.”

Morison has always enjoyed writing. In 2008 he published his novel, Quitting, which was also released as a fundraiser, raising nearly $10,000.00 for John Howard Society’s literacy initiatives. As well, he ghostwrote Rebel Without a Pause, Nick Ternette’s autobiography.

Morison asks those who take a copy of The Things We Say to pass it on to others who might do the same. “If it goes straight into one of those little book houses that people have in front of their homes, then that’s perfect.”

The launch will be at 7 pm on Thursday, March 22nd, 2018 at St. Margaret's Anglican Church in Wolseley in Winnipeg.

The Things We Say will be available for $19.95 from McNally Robinson Booksellers after the initial distribution at the launch. E-versions will be available from a number of vendors.

Glenn Morison

53-200 Arlington Street

Winnipeg, MB, R3G 0Z8

glenn@morison.ca

www.morison.ca/ThingsWeSay

204-298-7859

Advance copies (electronic or paper) upon request.