Mary Roach
Mary Roach speaking at TED in 2009. Photograph by Bill Holsinger-Robinson.
Born	Etna, New Hampshire
Occupation	Author (non-fiction)
Nationality	American
Genres	Popular science
www.maryroach.net

Mary Roach is a columnist and popular science writer. Raised in Etna, New Hampshire, she holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Wesleyan University and currently resides in Oakland, California. To date, she has published four books: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (2003), Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife (2005) (published in some markets as Six Feet Over: Adventures in the Afterlife), Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex (2008) and Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void (2010).

Life and career[link]

She began her writing career at the San Francisco Zoological Society, producing press releases on such topics as elephant wart surgery.^[1] In 1986, she sold a humor piece about the IRS to the San Francisco Chronicle. That led to a spate of humorous first-person essays for such publications as Sports Illustrated, Vogue, The New York Times Magazine, Discover, Outside, Reader's Digest (for whom she wrote a monthly humor column) and GQ.

Roach's work has a serious edge, as well. Her book, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, was selected for Washington State University's Common Reading Program in 2008-09.

Roach appeared on The Daily Show on August 2, 2010 to discuss her newest book Packing for Mars.^[2]

Bibliography[link]

• Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. Penguin. 2003. ISBN 978-0-393-32482-2. 
• Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife. W. W. Norton & Company. 2005. ISBN 978-0-393-32912-4. 
• Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex. W. W. Norton & Company. 2008. ISBN 978-0-393-06464-3. 
• Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void. W. W. Norton & Company. 2010. ISBN 978-0-393-06847-4. 

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mary Roach's website
• 2011 Interview on the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy Podcast
• Interview: Swoopy; Colanduno, Derek (August 24, 2010), "Ep. #137 - Packing for Mars", Skepticality (Skeptic Magazine), http://www.skepticality.com/packing-for-mars/, retrieved November 27, 2011 
• Video: Mary Roach discusses Bonk at BODIES...The Exhibition in New York City on 4/6/2009 (via fora.tv)
• Video: Mary Roach at the Los Angeles Public Library (Fora.tv)
• Video: Mary Roach on SlateV.com
• Video: Mary Roach's TED talk 10 things you didn't know about orgasm
• New York Times review of Spook by Janet Maslin
• New York Times review of Bonk by Pamela Paul
• HoboTrashcan's Getting to Know ... Mary Roach an in-depth feature article on Roach and Bonk
• Review of Spook; interview with author, 10-05
• BookBanter Episode 7 featuring recent interview with Mary Roach from April 23rd, 2009
• Interview with Mary Roach, mostly about Bonk on Little Atoms podcast, 27 June 2008
• Mary Roach articles for Outside magazine

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Tracey Cox (born 1961) is a British non fiction author who specializes in books on dating, sex and relationships. She is the author of many best selling titles.

On radio, she appears from time to time on the Jo Whiley show on BBC Radio 1, on a feature called 'Ask The Experts'. Her television career has included co-presenting programmes like Would Like To Meet on BBC2 and The Sex Inspectors for Channel 4 in the United Kingdom.

She has also been a columnist for newspapers and magazines.

Cox was born in the United Kingdom but spent many years in Australia where she edited Cosmopolitan magazine and had her own radio show. Although not much information is known about Cox herself, a great deal can be learnt about her from her books as they contain snippets from her own personal experiences. Hot Relationships was written after her divorce.

Personal life[link]

She lived in England until she was 10 when her father moved the family to escape a 10 year affair. Her father has since left her mother to be with his mistress.

Cox claims her career choice is thanks to her older sister, who was a family planning nurse. So Cox she "grew up surrounded by condoms". "I was the kid everyone turned to with questions such as ‘I’ve got a swollen this or that, can you ask if I’ve got an STI/whether I’m pregnant?’"

At 15 she was obsessed with losing her virginity. She'd decided it had to happen when she turned 16. So on the eve of her birthday, she made her boyfriend at the time wait until the clock struck 12. She says she knew all about the engineering of sex but not about the logistics – and had no idea that people actually moved during it! She hated it and dumped the boyfriend and didn’t have sex again until she was 19.

She studied journalism and psychology at Queensland University and first "learned the ropes" about journalism at the Nundah Express then she ended up Associate Editor of Australian Cosmo.

Was diagnosed with cancer of the cervix at 28. The surgery was successful but it left her cervix so damaged doctors said she'd probably never have a baby.

She was married. She was 30 and he was a younger, Canadian professional sportsman. They lived happily together for four years but something changed when they got married. She left three years into the marriage. She says, "It was heart-breaking but it was the right thing to do."

She was pregnant in 2004 and was very surprised because she thought it was impossible because of the cancer treatment, but had a miscarriage.

She is ready to meet her soul mate. "Career-wise I’ve done everything I’ve ever wanted – and much more. I’m 43 [in Feb 2005] and think I’m ready to settle down again. How scary!"^[1]

Television work[link]

Sex Inspectors (shown on C4 in the UK, HBO in the US and numerous other countries including Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and South Africa.) Tracey and her co-host, gay agony uncle Michael Alvear star in this ground-breaking program which put cameras in the homes - and bedrooms - of UK couples to solve common sex and relationship issues. After analysing tapes of the couples, Michael and Tracey set tasks and challenges, dispelled myths and dispensed hands-on practical advice applicable to both the couple and viewers at home. Two series have been filmed to date.

One of her shows Would like to meet was shown on BBC2 in the UK,^[2] renamed Date Patrol and on Discovery Health in the US. A dating show with a difference, WLTM followed the personal journey of a person experiencing difficulties with their love life. The WLTM team - Tracey as flirt coach, Jay Hunt as the style guru and Jeremy Milnes as the confidence coach – watched the contributor on a ‘typical’ date from a specially equipped remote surveillance van. For six weeks, the experts worked to transform them from dating disaster into dating diva. Three series were filmed in the UK, including a celebrity special, and Tracey went on to make two series in the US.

Other UK TV credits Tracey’s first television series in the UK was called, Hot Love, a talk show about relationships. Hotter Sex – a series of six one-hour documentaries - followed. Under One Roof, an ITV1 series, saw Tracey tackle couples and families with domestic disputes. She is a regular on Richard & Judy and has appeared on numerous other UK programs including The Keith Barrett Show.

Books[link]

• Hot Sex [Corgi Books, 1998] ISBN 0-552-14707-9
• Hot Relationships [Corgi Books, 1999] ISBN 0-552-14784-2
• Would Like To Meet (with Jeremy Milnes and Jay Hunt) [BBC Worldwide, 2002] ISBN 0-563-48843-3
• Supersex [Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2002] ISBN 0-7513-3864-8
• Superflirt [Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2003] ISBN 1-4053-0065-5
• Superdate [Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2005] ISBN 1-4053-0706-4
• Quickies (Dorling Kindersley Limited)
• The Sex inspectors Masterclass (BBC books)
• Superhotsex [Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2006] ISBN 0-7566-2275-1
• The Sex doctor (Corgi Books)
• The Kama Sutra (Dorling Kindersley Limited)
• Sextasy

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tracey Cox's website
• Tracey Cox at the Internet Movie Database