Martha Beck - Biography

Biography

Martha Nibley was born in Provo, Utah in 1962, one of eight children of Hugh Nibley and Phyllis Nibley, and raised LDS in a prominent Utah family. Her father was a professor at Brigham Young University. She received an BA degree in East Asian studies, along with an MA and a Ph.D. in Sociology from Harvard University.

Beck met John Christen Beck, a fellow Mormon from Utah, during her undergraduate studies at Harvard. They married in the LDS Salt Lake Temple on June 21, 1983 in Salt Lake City, Utah, and eventually had three children together.

After the birth of their second child, Adam, who had been diagnosed with Down Syndrome prior to his birth, Beck returned with her husband and children to Utah, to be nearer to family and support. Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth and Everyday Magic is Beck's story about her decision to give birth to and raise Adam.

In 1990, soon after the birth of her third child, Beck joined the faculty of Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, teaching a course on the Sociology of Gender in the Department of Social Science. During her tenure at BYU, five faculty members were excommunicated from the LDS Church as a consequence of public writings that were deemed critical of the church. a group known as the September Six. She and husband John Beck also made critical public statements about both the excommunications and other church and BYU matters, which led to first John, then Martha herself, leaving the LDS Church in 1993.

Beck later wrote a book detailing the catalyst for her resignation from the church, Leaving the Saints, in which she alleges having been sexually abused as a child, and the Mormon community's subsequent reaction.

Her first book, coauthored with her husband, John Beck, Breaking the Cycle of Compulsive Behavior, treated homosexuality as one of several "compulsive behaviors," like bulimia. However, both Martha Beck and her now ex-husband subsequently came out publicly as gay and have stated that they no longer consider homosexuality a form of compulsive behavior. In 2003, Beck separated from her husband, divorcing from him in 2004. She began living with her partner Karen Gerdes, a social worker and professor, during her marriage and has continued this relationship.

Today, Beck lives in Phoenix, Arizona and is a partner in NorthStar, Inc. a life coaching consulting and seminar company. Beck also writes a monthly column in O: The Oprah Magazine. She has also written several self-help books, including Finding Your Own North Star, a book aimed at providing guidance to finding a purpose in life, The Joy Diet: 10 Daily Practices for a Happier Life, which offers insights into the importance of healthy and happy living habits to a fulfilling life, and Breaking Point: Why Women Fall Apart and How They Can Re-create Their Lives, which analyzes stresses and challenges that modern women face and offers advice on coping with and overcoming these issues.