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Marion Roach

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Marion Roach Smith[1] (born April 7, 1956) is a non-fiction author and a former staff member of The New York Times[2] who advocates "the power of the personal narrative".[1]

Books

Her first book, Another Name for Madness (1985), is a memoir that describes Alzheimer's effects on her mother (Allene Zillmann Roach)[3] and the family problems that arose because of it.[4] A reviewer for The Baltimore Sun described the book as "simply the best evocation of an insidious illness I have ever read."[5] The book has been published in Canada, England, France, Japan, and the United States.[6]

Roach wrote The Roots of Desire: The Myth, Meaning, and Sexual Power of Red Hair (2005), a non-fiction piece about the history and oddities of red heads and their reactions from society.[7][8][9]

She is also the coauthor of Dead Reckoning: The New Science of Catching Killers with physician Michael Baden (2001),[10][11] and the author of The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life (2011).[12]

Career

After graduating college, Roach was hired by The New York Times. [1] At The Times, she worked as a copy person from 1977 to 1978, as a news clerk from 1978 to 1980, and as a news assistant from 1980 to 1983.[13] Beginning in 1998, she has been an instructor at the Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy, New York, of a class called "Writing What You Know" that teaches about writing memoirs.[14][15]

Along with her books, Roach's writing has also been published in the New York Times Magazine,[4] Vogue, Good Housekeeping, Discover, Prevention, and Newsday. She also works as a professor of a memoir course at the Arts Center of the Capital Region, New York; and works as a commentator on National Public Radio on the show "All Things Considered." She previously had a spot on Martha Stewart Living Radio Sirius 112 called "The Naturalist's Datebook". This daily radio show included facts, websites, books, poems and more concerning nature and naturalists. She started each piece with how many days of the year had elapsed since New Years, and quotes how many days since the new moon. Ms. Roach closed each Datebook with the phrase "And that's it for the Naturalist's Datebook... and remember: look around, write it down, and keep your eye on nature."

Roach testified before the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Aging in the mid-1980s to ask Congress to revise the insurance practice of labeling Alzheimer's disease as a custodial issue (non-medical care that assists people with day-to-day living such as eating or washing) instead of a medical one.[4] She has served as a member of the board of directors for the Alzheimer's Resource Center.[13] In addition to her emphasis on helping people affected by Alzheimer's, Roach has also worked with domestic-abuse survivors, people in recovery, and veterans of the Vietnam War.[1]

Personal life

Marion Roach was born on April 7, 1956, in Queens, New York City, to James Pilkington Roach, a sportswriter, and Allene Roach, a teacher.[13] In 1977, she graduated cum laude from St. Lawrence University,[13] where she is Board of Trustees member.[16][17] Roach is married to the Times Union editor Rex Smith, and they have a daughter.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Oldman, Meg. "Bestselling Author Marion Roach Smith Says, "Write What You Know!"". Paragon Road. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  2. ^ Smith, Marion Roach (9 June 2011). The Memoir Project. Grand Central. ISBN 9780446584845. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Slater, Joyce (November 17, 1985). "Book on Alzheimer's offers glimmer of hope". The Atlanta Constitution. Georgia, Atlanta. p. 222. Retrieved April 6, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c Rosenfeld, Ruth (October 15, 1985). "Roach gives personal account of Alzheimer's". Austin American-Statesman. Texas, Austin. p. 76. Retrieved April 6, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Paul, Jeanne (September 29, 1985). "Facing insidious treachery of Alzheimer's disease". The Baltimore Sun. Maryland, Baltimore. p. 10 M. Retrieved April 6, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Michael Baden, MD & Marion Roach". New York State Writers Institute. State University of New York. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  7. ^ Lanham, Fritz (August 7, 2005). "To dye for: Redheaded author revels in power of birthright". Arizona Republic. Arizona, Phoenix. Houston Chronicle. p. E 4. Retrieved April 6, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Eckhoff, Sally (July 20, 2005). "The mystery and allure of redheads makes for a hot topic". Times Union. Archived from the original on 2020-04-06. Retrieved 2020-04-06 – via Chicago Tribune.
  9. ^ Genzlinger, Neil (August 28, 2005). "Nonfiction Chronicle". The New York Times.
  10. ^ Kaye, D.H. (Summer 2002). "Review of Dead Reckoning". Jurimetrics. 42 (4): 501–503. JSTOR 29762784.
  11. ^ Starrs, James E. (January–February 2003). "Crime scene scene". American Scientist. 91 (1): 84–86. JSTOR 27858167.
  12. ^ Mair, Elizabeth Floyd (August 12, 2011). "Everyone has a memoir in them: Author Marion Roach Smith wants to teach people how to write about their lives with her new book". Star Tribune.
  13. ^ a b c d "Marion Roach". Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors. Gale. 2012-12-07. Archived from the original on 2020-04-05. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
  14. ^ Mair, Elizabeth Floyd (2011-08-07). "An author in all of us: Marion Roach Smith believes writing is good for everyone, and she just happens to have an instruction manual". Times Union. Archived from the original on 2020-04-06. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  15. ^ Galehouse, Maggie (2011-06-20). "Author Marion Roach Smith explains how to put life experiences into words". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2020-04-06. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  16. ^ Bronstein, Scott (2001-10-20). "SLU Grad Overcomes Fears to Pen Forensics Book". Watertown Daily Times. Archived from the original on 2020-04-06. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  17. ^ "The Board of Trustees". St. Lawrence University. Archived from the original on 2020-04-06. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  18. ^ Ringler, Robyn (April 24, 2017). "Pushing Back: An Interview with College Student Grace Smith on Identity and Activism". Scoundrel Time.
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