Nancy Mairs

Nancy Mairs (née Smith; July 23, 1943 – December 3, 2016) was an author who wrote about diverse topics, including spirituality, women's issues and her experiences living with multiple sclerosis.

Nancy Mairs
Born
Nancy Pedrick Smith

(1943-07-23)July 23, 1943
Long Beach, California, U.S.
DiedDecember 3, 2016(2016-12-03) (aged 73)
Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Occupationwriter
Known forArgument against discrimination based on disability
Home townTucson, Arizona
Spouse(s)George Mairs

Life

Mairs was born on July 23, 1943 in Long Beach, California.[1]

She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) when she was 28, and began using a wheelchair soon after.[1] She wrote several essays on her experiences as a self-described "cripple", including "On Being a Cripple," "Sex and the Gimpy Girl," and the memoir Waist High in the World.[1]

In her 30s, she converted to Roman Catholicism, a faith that she frequently wrote about in her essays.[1]

She was married to George Mairs.[2]

Nancy Mairs died in Tucson, Arizona on December 3, 2016.[3]

Career

She earned an AB from Wheaton College in 1964.[1]

Prior to attending graduate school, Mairs worked at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge and the International Tax Program at Harvard Law School.[1]

She went on to earn an MFA in writing in 1975 and a Ph.D. in 1983; both graduate degrees were from the University of Arizona.[4]

Her PhD dissertation became the book that was eventually published the essay collection Plaintext (1986).[5]

Mairs published poetry and essays regularly, and was particularly well-known for writing about her experiences as a woman with a physical disability.[6]

She also wrote about her experiences with managing depression.[7]

In 2011, Palgrave published On the Literary Nonfiction of Nancy Mairs: A Critical Anthology, an edited collection of her essays with commentaries on and essays about her work.[8]

Works

In All the Rooms of the Yellow House (1984)
Plaintext (1986)
Remembering the Bonehouse (1989)
Carnal Acts (1990)
Ordinary Time (1993)
Voice Lessons (1994)
Waist-High in the World: A Life Among the Nondisabled (1996)
A Troubled Guest: Life and Death Stories (2001)
Essays Out Loud: On Having Adventures & A Necessary End (CD) (2004)
A Dynamic God: Living an Unconventional Catholic Faith (2007)

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References
  1. "Gale Literature -- Contemporary Authors". galeapps.gale.com. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  2. "States of Grace : ORDINARY TIME: Cycles in Marriage, Faith, and Renewal, By Nancy Mairs (Beacon Press: $20; 238 pp.)". Los Angeles Times. 1993-07-11. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  3. Grimes, William (December 7, 2016). "Nancy Mairs, Who Wrote About Her Mental Illness and Multiple Sclerosis, Dies at 73". Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  4. "Official Site". Nancy Mairs. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
  5. Mairs, Nancy (1994). Voice Lessons: On Becoming a (Woman) Writer. Beacon Press. ISBN 978-0-8070-6007-0.
  6. Johnson, M.; Mintz, S. (2011-09-26). On the Literary Nonfiction of Nancy Mairs: A Critical Anthology. Springer. ISBN 978-0-230-33768-8.
  7. Haugen, Hayley (Spring 2012). "NANCY MAIRS: FAMILY, DISABILITY, AND WRITING BEYOND THE FAMILIAL SELF" (PDF). Proteus.
  8. Johnson, M.; Mintz, S. (2011-09-26). On the Literary Nonfiction of Nancy Mairs: A Critical Anthology. Springer. ISBN 978-0-230-33768-8.
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