About
Striving to make a meaningful contribution
I think of myself as a soul who is temporarily associated with a body. Together we’re hoping to make a difference in this world.
Shortly after my 72nd birthday, I crossed into the Fourth of my 24-year life phases. The first two were for learning about myself and raising a family. I loved writing, mostly poems and journal entries, but I didn’t know how to share them.
Phase Three, from 1997 to 2021, was devoted to service. I wrote rambling essays for my degree program. I created workshop content and project materials for our nonprofit. My husband and I co-authored a book, a collection of personal essays and commentary about race. I still loved writing, and I shared it with anyone who would listen.
Now I write full-time. The stories speak themselves to me, and I do my best to capture them on the page. Some are stories I thought would never be shared, but they were insistent. I believe they each have a mission to pursue.
My family and my faith keep me grounded. Souls in the world of spirit send me inspiration. And writing allows me to make sense of my life and connect with others who are trying to do the same.
Bios
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Phyllis Unterschuetz is a creative nonfiction writer, storyteller, and co-author of Longing: Stories of Racial Healing. She is currently writing her second book, a memoir about finding the courage to tell her abortion story. Phyllis was recently awarded the “Telling True Stories” Fellowship from the Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow. Her personal essays have been long-listed for the 2023 Amy MacRae Award for Memoir and have placed in several writing contests. She has three grown children and one in the spiritual world, six grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter. Phyllis and her husband live just outside Atlanta.
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Phyllis Unterschuetz is a writer, storyteller, and the co-author, together with her husband Gene, of Longing: Stories of Racial Healing, a collection of true narratives about their journey of awakening to the effects of racism. Longing has inspired honest dialogue in a wide variety of settings, and Phyllis’ storytelling video “The Promise” is used in classrooms and discussion groups to encourage deeper awareness about race.
Phyllis and Gene lived for 15 years on the road in an RV, conducting field research on the dynamics of racial conditioning and presenting for universities and community organizations around the country. She was the co-founder and president of the nonprofit Race Story ReWrite Project, where she served as a speaker, workshop facilitator, and content creator.
In 2021, Phyllis retired from facilitating to focus full-time on writing. Her personal essays appear in a number of publications, and she is the recipient of the 2024 “Telling True Stories” Fellowship from the Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow. She is currently working on her second book, a memoir about healing from a traumatic, illegal abortion in her youth.
Phyllis writes about spirituality, social justice, and rewriting the stories we tell ourselves. She and her husband live outside Atlanta
Longer version
Phyllis Unterschuetz is a creative nonfiction writer and storyteller. She is the co-author, together with her husband Gene, of Longing: Stories of Racial Healing, a collection of true, personal stories about awakening to the effects of racism. Longing has inspired honest dialogue in a wide variety of settings, and Phyllis’ YouTube story, “The Promise: A Lesson in White Privilege,” is used in classrooms and discussion groups to encourage deeper awareness about race. She was also the editor of the compilation Toward Oneness & Freedom from Racial Prejudice.
For most of her writing career, Phyllis focused on the topic of racial justice and unity. She and her husband lived for 15 years on the road in an RV, conducting field research on the dynamics of racial conditioning, giving talks, and facilitating workshops for universities and community organizations around the country. She received the DePaul Award of Excellence and the Arthur Weinberg Memorial Prize for Social Justice for essays written during their travels. Phyllis was the co-founder of the nonprofit Race Story ReWrite Project, dedicated to supporting grassroots initiatives for raising racial awareness. She served as content creator, trainer, and the organization’s president from 2014 through 2020.
In 2021, Phyllis retired from facilitating workshops to focus full-time on writing her second book, as well as personal essays, fables, and poetry. She was the winner of Tell Your Story’s Spring 2023 Writing Contest and a runner-up in Women on Writing’s 2024 Quarterly Essay Contest. Her work has been published in Science of Mind Magazine, The Muffin, and The Memoirist, among others; long-listed for the 2023 Amy MacRae Award for Memoir; and nominated for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize.
Phyllis’ current project is a memoir about finding the courage to tell the abortion story she tried to keep secret for over 50 years. Based on her work-in-progress, she was awarded the “Telling True Stories” Fellowship from the Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow, where she will attend a 2-week residency in September, 2024.
Phyllis is a lifelong a member of the Bahá’í Faith, which informs her spiritual beliefs, her social justice work, and her passion for writing true stories that can uplift and transform our communities. She and her husband Gene live just outside Atlanta and have been married for 53 years. They have three grown children, six grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter. Phyllis’ first child lives in the spiritual world and is helping her write her memoir.
Honors & Awards
• Fellowship: “Telling True Stories,” two-week residence at The Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow – June 2024
• Runner Up: “And The Trees Shall Hold You,” Women on Writing Nonfiction Essay Contest, Spring 2024
• Pushcart Prize nomination: “Miscalculating the Gravity of My Situation” – October 2023
• Longlist: Amy McRae International Award for Memoir – September 2023
• Best of the Net nomination: “Miscalculating the Gravity of My Situation” – July 2023
• Winner: Tell Your Story Spring Writing Contest – May 2023
• Finalist: Inspired Writer Personal Essay contest, “Just Dessert” – 2022
• 3rd place: Writerwerx Grand Opening Novel Contest – 2021
• Award of Excellence: “Collaborative Learning,” DePaul University – 2002
• Arthur Weinberg Award for Social Justice: “Understanding Prejudice” – 2002