Matthew E. Morgan, Author
Matthew E. Morgan is a therapist, author, and speaker exploring how story, identity, and embodiment shape the way people understand themselves and find belonging.
His work focuses on the intersection of narrative, fandom culture, and personal transformation — particularly the ways cosplay and storytelling allow people to experiment with identity, resilience, and connection.
Origin of this book:
Matthew’s professional work as a therapist has long centered on identity development, neurodivergence, trauma recovery, and the ways people rebuild meaning after disruption or loss.
Over time, he began noticing something surprising.
Many of the same identity processes that appear in therapy were also happening in creative spaces — especially within fandom communities and cosplay.
Characters gave people language for parts of themselves they had struggled to express. Costumes allowed them to embody strength, confidence, grief, or courage in ways that everyday life sometimes made difficult.
Those observations eventually grew into The Cosplay Therapy Project, an exploration of how story and embodiment influence identity and belonging.
Writing:
Matthew is the author of several books - the latest of which is a book examining how cosplay can support identity exploration, confidence, healing, and community.
Through interviews with cosplayers and reflections drawn from therapeutic practice, the book explores how fandom spaces often become laboratories for identity — places where people experiment with who they are and who they are becoming.
His writing focuses on:
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identity and belonging
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story as a framework for healing
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fandom culture and meaning-making
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embodiment and self-expression
Fiction Works
ShadowLight
Paperback, Kindle
Only Two Came Back
Novella: Paperback, Kindle
Deaf since birth, Jonah Matthews thought the hardest part of life was getting through college—until he’s pulled into a hidden war between supernatural forces battling for control of the world. With a blazing sword and unlikely allies, Jonah must stop a dangerous woman before she gains the power to destroy everyone who stands against her.
Non-Fiction Works
More Than a Story explores how cosplay and fandom create powerful spaces for identity, healing, and belonging.
More Than A Story
Integrating Geek Culture into
Therapeutic Practice, 2nd ed.
Paperback, Kindle
Get to Know Us
Popular topics include:
• Cosplay and identity
• Story as a tool for healing
• Belonging and embodiment in fandom communities
• Mental health and geek culture
Speaking inquiries are welcome through the contact page.
Professional Background
Matthew is a licensed professional clinical counselor who has spent years working with individuals navigating identity questions, trauma recovery, neurodivergence, and major life transitions.
His clinical work has shaped much of the perspective found in his writing, particularly the belief that identity is not fixed but something people rehearse, explore, and integrate over time.
Matthew has his own practice - Misfit Refuge Counseling - and provides teletherapy to individuals to Ohio and Florida.
Personal Note:
Outside of his professional work, Matthew is a lifelong fan of science fiction, fantasy, gaming, and storytelling. He plays D&D and Final Fantasy XIV.
He also cosplays.
That experience — standing inside a character’s armor, hearing someone say “I know who you are,” and recognizing the strange mix of performance and authenticity in that moment — helped shape the ideas that eventually became More Than a Story.
Because sometimes putting on a costume helps people discover something real.