Mary Roach

{{Short description|American author (born 1959)}} {{Infobox writer  | image = 2025 Mary Roach at the Library of Congress on 25 September (cropped).jpg | name = Mary Roach | caption = Roach in 2025 | pseudonym = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|3|20}} | birth_place = [[Hanover, New Hampshire]], US | occupation = {{hlist|Author|humorist}} | nationality = US | period = | genre = {{hlist|[[Popular science]]|[[humor]]}} | website = {{URL|maryroach.net}} }} {{Use mdy|date= October 2025}}

'''Mary Roach''' (born March 20, 1959) is an American author specializing in [[popular science]] and [[humor]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.ted.com/speakers/mary_roach|title=Mary Roach|first=Mary|last=Roach|work=[[TED (conference)|TED]].com| publisher= | date= | access-date= 2025-10-21}}</ref> She has published eight [[New York Times bestsellers|''New York Times'' bestsellers]]: ''[[Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers]]'' (2003), ''[[Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife]]'' (2005), ''[[Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex]]'' (2008), ''[[Packing for Mars|Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void]]'' (2010), ''[[Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal]]'' (2013), ''[[Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War]]'' (2016), ''[[Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law]]'' (2021), and ''Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy'' (2025).

==Early life, family and education== {{expand-section| date= October 2025}} Mary Roach was born in [[Hanover, New Hampshire]].<ref name= Chili>{{cite web| url= https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/profiles/article/70223-chili-peppers-as-weapons.html| title= Chili Peppers as Weapons: Mary Roach| work= [[Publishers Weekly]]| first= Anisse| last= Gross |date= 2016-05-06 | access-date= 2025-10-21}}</ref> She was raised in [[Etna, New Hampshire|Etna]],<ref name= about>{{cite web| url= https://www.maryroach.net/maryroach.html|title= About Mary| work=maryroach.net| publisher= Mary Roach| date= | access-date= 2025-10-21}}</ref> a village within the town of Hanover. Both her parents worked at [[Dartmouth College]].<ref name= Chili />

Roach attended [[Hanover High School (New Hampshire)|Hanover High School]] and was a straight-A student.<ref name= how>{{cite web| url= https://www.artpublikamag.com/post/howmaryroachunintentionallybecameasciencejournalistandwrotesixnewyorktimesbestsellers| title= How Mary Roach Unintentionally Became a Science Journalist and Wrote Six New York Times Bestsellers| first= Liz| last= Publika| website= artpublikamag.com| publisher= | date= June 3, 2021| access-date= 2025-10-21}}</ref> She graduated from [[Wesleyan University]] in 1981<ref name= about /><ref name=KQED /> with a [[bachelor's degree]] in [[psychology]].<ref name= Chili />

==Career== After college, Roach moved to [[San Francisco]], [[California]],<ref name= about /> and spent a few years working as a freelance [[copy editor]]. Her writing career began in the public affairs office of the [[San Francisco Zoo]]logical Society, producing [[press release]]s on topics such as [[wart]] surgery on elephants. On her days off from the SFZS, she wrote freelance articles for [[San Francisco Chronicle Magazine|San Francisco Chronicle's Sunday magazine]], ''Image''.<ref name= Roach>{{cite web|last=Roach|first=Mary|title=About Mary|url=https://maryroach.net/maryroach.html| work= maryroach.net| publisher= Mary Roach| date= | access-date=21 July 2012}}</ref>

She has written essays and feature articles for such publications as ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]'', ''[[GQ]]'', ''[[The New York Times Magazine]]'', ''[[Discover Magazine]]'', ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]'', ''[[Outside Magazine]]'', and ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]''<ref name=KQED /><ref>{{cite episode |series=The Writers' Block |date=2006-01-18 |url=http://www.kqed.org/arts/profile/index.jsp?essid=5104 |first=Mary |last=Roach |title=Spook |network=[[NPR]] |station=[[KQED-FM]] |access-date=2012-07-31 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131112150302/http://www.kqed.org/arts/profile/index.jsp?essid=5104 |archive-date=2013-11-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> as well as columns for ''[[Salon (website)|Salon.com]]'' In Health ("Stitches"), ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' ("My Planet"), and ''[[Sports Illustrated for Women]]'' ("The Slightly Wider World of Sports"),<ref name= KQED>{{cite web|last=Roach|first=Mary|title=Mary Roach|url=http://www.kqed.org/arts/profile/index.jsp?essid=5104| website= kqed.org| publisher= [[KQED, Inc.]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131112150302/http://www.kqed.org/arts/profile/index.jsp?essid=5104 |archive-date=12 November 2013|url-status=dead |access-date=21 July 2012}}</ref> and [[Inc. (magazine)|Inc.com]].

From 1996 to 2005, Roach was part of "[[San Francisco Writers Grotto|the Grotto]]", a San Francisco-based project and community of working writers and filmmakers. It was in this community that Roach got the push she needed to break into book writing.<ref name="Grotto">{{cite web| url= https://www.sfgrotto.org/people/past-members/| title= Past members| website= sfgrotto.org| publisher= [[San Francisco Writers Grotto]] |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20151016080053/http://www.sfgrotto.org/people/past-members/ |archivedate=2015-10-16| access-date= 2025-10-21}}</ref> While being interviewed by Alex C. Telander of ''BookBanter'', Roach described how she got started on her first book: <blockquote>A few of us every year [from the Grotto] would make predictions for other people, where they'll be in a year. So someone made the prediction that, 'Mary will have a book contract.' I forgot about it and when October came around I thought, I have three months to pull together a book proposal and have a book contract. This is what literally lit the fire under my butt.<ref>{{cite AV media|first= Alex C.|last= Telander|title=Audio Interviews |chapter= Episode 7: Mary Roach|date=1 May 2009|publisher=BookBanter|time=4:45|url=https://archive.org/download/BookBanterEpisode007-AnInterviewWithMaryRoach/episode07withmaryroach.mp3|access-date=12 August 2016|format=MP3}}</ref></blockquote>

Although Roach writes primarily about science, she never intended to make it her career. Roach stated in an interview with [[TheVerge]].com, when asked what exactly got her hooked on writing about science, "To be honest, it turned out that science stories were always, consistently, the most interesting stories I was assigned to cover. I didn't plan it like this, and I don't have a formal background in science, or any education in science journalism."<ref>{{cite news |first=Katie |last=Drummond |date=2013-04-17 |url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/4/17/4230242/science-writer-mary-roach-everything-i-learn-is-pretty-shocking-and-weird |title=Science writer Mary Roach: 'everything I learn is pretty shocking and weird' |work=[[The Verge]] | access-date= 2025-10-21}}</ref>

Roach has appeared on numerous television and radio programs including ''[[The Daily Show]]'',<ref name="dailyshowgulp">{{cite episode |series=[[The Daily Show]] |title=Mary Roach on ''Gulp'' |url=http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-april-1-2013/mary-roach |date=2013-04-01}}</ref>''[[The Colbert Report]]'',<ref>{{cite episode |title=Mary Roach |series=The Colbert Report |series-link=The Colbert Report |season=1 |number=15 |date=November 9, 2005 |url=http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/181165/november-09-2005/mary-roach}}</ref> ''[[Coast to Coast AM]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/roach-mary/6602 |title=Mary Roach |work=[[Coast to Coast AM]] | access-date= 2025-10-21}}</ref> National Public Radio's ''[[Fresh Air]]'',<ref name="Gulp Fresh Air Interview">{{cite web |title=In Digestion: Mary Roach Explains What Happens To The Food We Eat |url= https://www.npr.org/2013/04/01/175381702/in-digestion-mary-roach-explains-what-happens-to-the-food-we-eat |website=npr.org |date=26 March 2013 |publisher= [[National Public Radio]] |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref> and [[C-SPAN2]] [[Book TV]]'s ''[[In Depth]]''.<ref name="C-Span Videos">{{cite web |title=Mary Roach on the C-SPAN Networks |url=https://www.c-span.org/person/?maryroach |website=c-span.org |publisher=c-span |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref> Her 2009 [[TED (conference)|TED talk]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=Roach|first=Mary|title=Mary Roach {{!}} Speaker | url=https://www.ted.com/speakers/mary_roach|access-date=2020-08-15|website= TED.com|language=en}}</ref> "Ten Things You Didn't Know About Orgasm",<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jx0dTYUO5E | title=Mary Roach: 10 things you didn't know about orgasm |publisher= TED | via=[[YouTube]] | date=20 May 2009 |access-date= 2025-10-21}}</ref> made the organization's list of its most popular talks of all time.<ref name="ted talk list">{{cite web |title=The most popular talks of all time |url=https://www.ted.com/playlists/171/the_most_popular_ted_talks_of_all_time |website= TED.com |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref>

[[File:Mary Roach in Zero Gravity.jpg|thumb|350px|Roach floats weightlessly on a [[parabolic flight]] while researching ''Packing For Mars'']]

Roach has reviewed books for ''The New York Times'' and was the guest editor of the ''[[Best American Science and Nature Writing]]'' 2011 edition. She also serves as a member of the [[Mars Institute]]'s Advisory Board, as an ambassador for [[Mars One]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mars-one.com/about-mars-one/ambassadors/mary-roach| title=Mary Roach|work=Mars One|access-date=2015-02-24|archive-date=2019-05-24|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190524075701/http://www.mars-one.com/about-mars-one/ambassadors/mary-roach|url-status=dead}}</ref> and an advisor for [[Orion (online magazine)|Orion magazine]].<ref name="Orion Advisor">{{cite web |title=Advisor List for Orion Magazine |url=https://orionmagazine.org/advisors/ |website= orionmagazine.org |publisher=Orion Magazine |access-date=4 May 2021 |archive-date=23 April 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210423164309/https://orionmagazine.org/advisors/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> She has been an Osher Fellow<ref name="Osher Fellow">{{cite web |title=Mary Roach Osher Fellow |url=https://www.exploratorium.edu/collaborations/oshers/mary-roach |website=exploratorium.edu |date=16 August 2017 |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref> at the [[Exploratorium|San Francisco Exploratorium]] and has served on the Usage Panel of the ''[[American Heritage Dictionary]]''.<ref>{{cite tweet|last=Roach|first=Mary| title= Joining Usage Panel of Am. Heritage Dict. Thank you, @ahdictionary, for this unexpected honor. Will do my best not to mess up the language.| user= mary_roach| number= 218423308587237376| date= 2012-06-28| url-status= dead| archiveurl= https://archive.today/20121210053918/https://twitter.com/mary_roach/status/218423308587237376#selection-765.1-775.73| archivedate= 2012-12-10| access-date= 2025-10-21}}</ref>

==Awards and recognition== ''[[Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers]]'' was a ''New York Times'' Bestseller, a 2003 [[Barnes & Noble]] "Discover Great New Writers" pick, and one of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''{{'s}} "Best Books of 2003." The book has been translated into at least 17 languages, including [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] (Hullamerev) and [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] (Negyvėliai). ''Stiff'' was also selected for the [[Washington State University]] Common Reading Program in 2008–2009.<ref name=wsun>{{cite web|last=Pullman|title=Common Reading Program welcomes author Mary Roach |url=https://news.wsu.edu/2008/09/12/common-reading-program-welcomes-author-mary-roach/#.U1fcQ_ldU5o |work= news.wsu.edu| publisher= Washington State University|date=12 September 2008 |access-date=22 July 2012}}</ref>

''[[Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife]]'' was a ''New York Times'' Bestseller and was listed as a ''New York Times'' Notable Books pick in 2005. ''[[Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex]]'', chosen as the ''New York Times Book Review'' Editor's Choice, was among ''[[The Boston Globe]]''{{'s}} Top 5 Science Books, and was listed as a bestseller in several other publications.<ref name=Spook>{{cite web|last=Roach|first=Mary| title=Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife|url=https://maryroach.net/spook.html| website= maryroach.net| publisher= Mary Roach| access-date=21 July 2012}}</ref> In 2011, ''[[Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void]]'' was chosen as the book of the year for the seventh annual "[[One City One Book]]: San Francisco Reads" literary event program.<ref>{{cite web| title=One City One Book 2011|url=https://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=2000255701|location=San Francisco Public Library|year=2011 |access-date=5 July 2012}}</ref> ''Packing for Mars'' was also sixth on the ''New York Times'' Bestseller list.<ref name=Mars>{{cite web|last=Roach|first=Mary|title=Packing for Mars|url=https://maryroach.net/packing-for-mars.html|access-date=21 July 2012}}</ref> ''[[Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal]]'' was also a ''New York Times'' Bestseller and on the shortlist for the 2014 [[Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books]].<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29987159 | title=Materials book wins Royal Society Winton Prize | first= Melissa| last=Hogenboom | publisher= BBC | date=10 November 2014 | access-date=11 November 2014}}</ref>

Roach was the recipient of the [[Harvard Secular Society]]'s Rushdie Award<ref name=Harvard>{{cite web|last=Chandonnet|first=Sarah|title=Author Mary Roach to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award|url=http://harvardhumanist.org/2012/03/29/mary-roach/| publisher= Humanist Community Project At Harvard | website= harvardhumanist.org|access-date=29 July 2012|date=29 March 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120628074200/http://harvardhumanist.org/2012/03/29/mary-roach/|archive-date=28 June 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> in 2012 for her outstanding lifetime achievement in cultural [[humanism]]. The same year, she received a Special Citation in [[scientific inquiry]] from [[Maximum Fun]]. "The Bamboo Solution", her article on [[earthquake]]-proof [[bamboo]] houses,<ref name=Bamboo>{{cite web|last=Roach|first=Mary|title=The Bamboo Solution |url=http://discovermagazine.com/1996/jun/thebamboosolutio784/?searchterm=mary%20roach |work=Discover Magazine|access-date=22 July 2012|date=June 1996 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407085806/http://discovermagazine.com/1996/jun/thebamboosolutio784/?searchterm=mary%20roach |archive-date=2014-04-07}}</ref> took the American Engineering Societies Engineering Journalism Award in the general interest magazine category in 1996. Roach's article "How to Win at Germ Warfare"<ref name=Germ>{{cite web|last=Roach|first=Mary|title=How to Win at Germ Warfare |url= http://slhspapbio.pbworks.com/w/file/50059298/How%20to%20Win%20at%20Germ%20Warfare.pdf|publisher=slhspapbio|access-date=22 July 2012}}</ref> was a [[National Magazine Award]] finalist in 1995.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.magazine.org/health-2 |title=Health |publisher=[[MPA – the Association of Magazine Media]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917135420/http://www.magazine.org/health-2 |archive-date=2016-09-17 |url-status=dead |access-date=2014-04-22}}</ref>

==Personal life== Roach resides and works in [[Oakland, California]],<ref name= Chili /> {{asof|2023|lc=y}}, where she continues to write.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-28 |title=Mary Roach |url=https://www.eastbaymag.com/mary-roach/ |access-date=2024-01-16 |website=East Bay Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> She arrived in California shortly after graduating college, having driven to [[San Francisco]] with friends.<ref name= about /><ref name= Chili /><ref name=KQED />

==Works== [[File:Mary Roach at TED in 2009.jpg|thumb|Roach at [[TED (conference)|TED]] 2009]]

*''[[Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers]]'' (2003, [[W. W. Norton & Company]]; {{ISBN|0-393-32482-6}} {{OCLC |55230887}}) *''[[Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife]]'' (2005, W. W. Norton & Company; {{ISBN|0-393-32912-7}} {{OCLC|76884889}}) *''[[Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex]]'' (2008, W. W. Norton & Company; {{ISBN|978-0-393-06464-3}} {{OCLC|930702693}}) *''[[Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void]]'' (2010, W. W. Norton & Company; {{ISBN|978-0-393-06847-4}} {{OCLC|1291915151}}) *''[[The Best American Science and Nature Writing|The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2011]]'' (editor, 2010, [[Mariner Books]]) *''[[Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal]]'' (2013, W. W. Norton & Company; {{ISBN|978-0393081572}} {{OCLC|811599508}}) *''[[My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places]]'' (2013, [[Penguin Publishing]]; {{ISBN|978-1621450719}} {{OCLC|822892403}}) *''[[Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War]]'' (2016, W. W. Norton & Company; {{ISBN|978-0-393-24544-8}} {{OCLC|953133374}})<ref name="Distillations">{{cite journal |last1=Gussman |first1=Neil |title=Military Solution |journal=Distillations |date=2017 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=38–41 |url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/military-solution |access-date=April 13, 2018 |archive-date=March 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321220732/https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/military-solution |url-status=dead }}</ref> *''[[Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law]]'' (2021, W. W. Norton & Company; {{ISBN|978-1-324-00193-5}} {{OCLC|1233265880}}) *''[[Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy]]'' (2025, W. W. Norton & Company; {{ISBN|978-1324050629}} {{OCLC|1498863835}})

==References== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== External links == {{commons category|Mary Roach}} {{Library resources box|by=yes|about=no}} * {{official website|http://www.maryroach.net/}} * {{C-SPAN|1005672}} * [http://www.tested.com/science/537932-talking-room-adam-savage-interviews-author-mary-roach/ Interview by Adam Savage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811001127/https://www.tested.com/science/537932-talking-room-adam-savage-interviews-author-mary-roach/ |date=2020-08-11 }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roach, Mary}} [[Category:1959 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Writers from Hanover, New Hampshire]] [[Category:American medical writers]] [[Category:American women medical writers]] [[Category:American magazine writers]] [[Category:American humorists]] [[Category:Wesleyan University alumni]] [[Category:American skeptics]] [[Category:Mars One]] [[Category:21st-century American women writers]] [[Category:American women science writers]] [[Category:American women humorists]] [[Category:Writers from New Hampshire]] [[Category:21st-century American science writers]]