Mary Allen

Mary Allen is a memoir and fiction writer whose themes are spiritual and psychological healing, love, memory, and the nature of life and death. Her memoir, The Rooms of Heaven, published by Alfred A. Knopf and Vintage Books, was called "extraordinary" (Newsweek), "powerful" (The Baltimore Sun), and "sad, mysterious, and beautiful" (Booklist). It was named one of the best nonfiction books of 2014 by Tin House. Her collection of personal essays, The Deep Limitless Air: A Memoir in Pieces, published in 2022 by Blue Light Press, has been called "A beautiful, funny warm, and heartbreaking book." The author Jo Ann Beard has said about the collection, "Allen's beguiling and brilliant writing will leave you exhilarated...Simply put, read this book." Mary Allen is currently at work on a literary novel set in the afterlife. She lives in Iowa City and makes her living as a writing coach.