Martha Beck: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|American sociologist}}

:''This page is for the therapist and author, Martha Beck. For the murderer, see [[Martha Beck (murderer)]].

{{About|the author and life coach|the serial killer|Martha Beck (serial killer)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2011}}

{{Infobox writer <!-- For more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]]. -->

| name = Martha Beck

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name = Martha Nibley

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1962|11|29}}

| birth_place = [[Provo, Utah]], U.S.

| occupation = {{hlist|[[Author]]|[[life coach]]|[[public speaker|speaker]]|[[sociologist]]}}

| notable_works = ''Leaving the Saints''

| alma_mater = [[Harvard University]]

| website = {{URL|MarthaBeck.com}}

| spouse = {{marriage|John Beck|1983|2004|end=div}}

| children = 3

| parent = [[Hugh Nibley]]

}}

'''Martha Nibley Beck''' (born November 29, 1962) is an American [[author]], [[life coach]], [[public speaker|speaker]], and [[sociologist]].

She holds [[bachelor's degree|bachelor's]], [[master's degree|master's]], and [[PhD]] degrees from [[Harvard University]]. Beck is the daughter of [[Hugh Nibley]], a deceased scholar of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) and [[Apologetics|apologist]]. She received national attention after publication in 2005 of her best-seller, ''Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith'' in which she recounts her experiences of surviving [[sexual abuse]]. In addition to authoring several books, Beck is a columnist for ''[[O, The Oprah Magazine]]''.

Dr. '''Martha Beck''' is a [[sociologist]], [[psychotherapy|therapist]], and best-selling writer. She contributes regularly to [[Oprah Winfrey]]'s ''[[O, The Oprah Magazine|O]]'' magazine.

==Early life==

Before her break with the LDS church, Beck co-authored ''Breaking the Cycle of Compulsive Behavior'' with her husband, John, in [[1990]]. A large portion of the book dealt with overcoming [[homosexuality]] (the two have since divorced and both are now openly gay). Beck is the mother of three children, one of whom inspired her to write her [[1999]] [[book]] ''Expecting Adam''. Her son Adam has [[Down Syndrome]]. She has since written ''Finding Your Own North Star'' and ''The Joy Diet''.

Martha Nibley was born in [[Provo, Utah]], in 1962, the seventh of eight children of Hugh and Phyllis Nibley, and raised a [[Latter-day Saint]] in a prominent Utah family. Her father was a professor at [[Brigham Young University]] (BYU). She received a bachelor's degree in [[East Asian studies]], along with master's and PhD degrees in [[sociology]] from Harvard University.<ref name="Leaving">{{cite book|isbn=978-0-307-33599-9|publisher=Three Rivers Press|title=Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith|year=2006|last=Beck|first=Martha N|url=https://archive.org/details/leavingsaintshow00beck_0}}</ref><ref name="nytleaving">{{cite news |last1=Wyatt |first1=Edward |title=A Mormon Daughter's Book Stirs a Storm |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/24/books/a-mormon-daughters-book-stirs-a-storm.html |access-date=14 January 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=24 February 2005}}</ref>

==Career==

Her most recent book, ''Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith'', (released in [[March 2005]]) is a narrative in which Beck describes memories of [[sexual abuse]] by her father [http://www.azcentral.com/ent/arts/articles/0225Mormon-Memoir-ON-CP.html], prominent [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints|Mormon]] academician [[Hugh Nibley]]; her sexual relationship with her husband; [[Feminism]]; [[religiosity]]; her experiences teaching at [[Brigham Young University]]; cultural dissonance and anomalies in [[Utah]]; her spiritual journey leaving [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]; and her research and use of controversial [[hypnosis]] and [[self-hypnosis]] methods to [[recovered memory|recover repressed childhood memories]] (including the alleged abuse). The book was originally conceived as a [[novel]], loosely based on her life (with the main character being male), but was changed to relate her personal experiences at the encouraging of her publishers, according to a review in the Mormon magazine ''Sunstone''. Beck has been criticized for failing to mention her current sexual orientation in the book, which purports to explain her sexuality; for her portrayal of Latter-Day Saints and Utah culture; and for her accusations against her father and others, allegations which are not only serious in nature but which in at least some cases appear to be provably false- for example, that sex abuse in Mormon families far exceeds any other group, and that Brigham Young University systematically removed all mention of [[Equal Rights Amendment]] activist [[Sonia Johnson]] from its huge campus library.

During her academic career, Beck worked as a research associate at the [[Harvard Business School]], studying career paths and life-course changes. Before becoming a life coach, she taught sociology, [[social psychology]], [[organizational behavior]], and [[business management]] at Harvard and the [[American Graduate School of International Management]]. She has published academic books and articles on a variety of social science and business topics. Her non-academic books include [[New York Times]] bestsellers ''Expecting Adam'' and ''Leaving the Saints'', as well as ''Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live'', ''Steering by Starlight'', and ''Finding Your Way in a Wild New World: Reclaiming Your True Nature'', and ''The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self''.

Beck has also been a contributing editor for popular magazines, including ''[[Real Simple]]'' and ''[[Redbook]]'', and has been a columnist for ''O, the Oprah Magazine'' since July 2001. Beck is the founder of Martha Beck, Inc., which offers Wayfinder Life Coach Training, and other courses based on Beck's philosophies.

On February 24, 2005, weeks before the scheduled release of ''Leaving the Saints'', an article in the ''[[New York Times]]'' reported how Beck's memoir had already become controversial in Mormon circles. Hugh Nibley's family and many of his associates had denounced the book, and praise for it from Oprah Winfrey on her website and in her magazine had prompted 3,500 protest emails. Beck's seven siblings had denounced the book's accusations against their father as "false". Beck claims that a relative who supported her version of events spoke "only on the condition of anonymity after receiving threats of physical violence because of her support of Dr. Beck."

==SourcesPersonal life==

Beck met John Christen Beck, a fellow LDS Church member from [[Utah]], during her undergraduate studies at Harvard. They married in the [[Salt Lake Temple]] in [[Salt Lake City, Utah]] on June 21, 1983. They eventually had three children together.<ref name="Divorce">{{cite court|litigants=Martha Nibley Beck v. John Christen Beck|vol=FC 2003-006435|reporter=Superior Court of Arizona Maricopa County|date=2003|url=http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/docs/Family%20Court/112004/m1601998.pdf|accessdate=2007-04-24}}</ref>

*[http://www.marthabeck.com/ Official website]

*[http://www.hughnibleydefense.com/ Beck's siblings respond to her allegations]

*[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0609609912 Amazon.com reviews of ''Leaving the Saints'', including one from ex-husband John Beck]

*[http://www.sunstoneonline.com/Download/book-review.pdf ''Sunstone'' Magazine's review of ''Leaving the Saints'' and its marketing]

*Wyatt, Edward. "A Mormon Daughter's Book Stirs a Storm." <cite>New York Times</cite>, February 24, 2005

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 closer 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.<ref name="Adam">{{cite book|title=Expecting Adam|last=Beck|first=Martha N|publisher=Platkus Books|year=2001|isbn=978-0-7499-2190-3}}</ref>

In 1990, soon after the birth of her third child, Beck, as a part-time faculty member at BYU in Provo, Utah, taught a course on the sociology of gender in the Department of Social Science. During her time as part-time faculty member at BYU, five Mormon scholars were excommunicated from the LDS Church as a consequence of public writings that were deemed critical of the church; the group became 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.<ref name="Leaving"/><ref>{{cite news |title= Mormon Inquisition? LDS Leaders Move To Repress Rebellion |url= http://www.utlm.org/newsletters/no85.htm |date=November 1993|last= Tanner |first= Jerald and Sandra |author-link= Jerald and Sandra Tanner |newspaper= Salt Lake Messenger |publisher= Utah Lighthouse Ministry |issue= 85 |access-date= 2013-08-18 }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=August 2013}}

[[Category:American sociologists|Beck, Martha]]

[[Category:American non-fiction writers|Beck, Martha]]

Since leaving the LDS Church, both Martha Beck and her now ex-husband subsequently came out publicly as [[gay]]. In 2003, Beck separated from her husband, divorcing him in 2004.<ref name="Divorce"/> She now lives with her family in Pennsylvania.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://marthabeck.com/bio/|title = Bio - Martha Beck|website = Martha Beck|language = en-US|access-date = 2016-03-03}}</ref>

[[Category:Ex-Mormons|Beck, Martha]]

[[Category:year of birth missing|Beck, Martha]]

==''Leaving the Saints''==

[[Category:Living people|Beck, Martha]]

{{see also|Satanic panic (Utah)}}

Beck's 2005 book ''Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith'' was controversial for accusations that she was sexually abused by her father, scholar and LDS Church apologist Hugh Nibley, as well as stating she [[Repressed memory|recovered memories]] of the abuse.<ref name="nytleaving"/><ref name="wapoleaving">{{cite news |last1=Reid |first1=T. R. |title=Daughter's Denunciation of Historian Roils Mormon Church |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/07/AR2005050700981.html |access-date=14 January 2022 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=8 May 2005}}</ref><ref name="deseretleaving">{{cite news |url=https://www.deseret.com/2005/2/9/19875592/nibley-siblings-outraged-over-sister-s-book |title=Nibley siblings outraged over sister's book |last=Lythgoe |first=Dennis |work=Deseret News |date=9 February 2005 |language=en |access-date=August 6, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241214181358/https://www.deseret.com/2005/2/9/19875592/nibley-siblings-outraged-over-sister-s-book/ |archive-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref> She writes that she had forgotten the abuse until later in her life when, in 1990, she recovered them. The veracity of recovered memories is disputed, and the [[American Psychological Association]] says "there is a consensus among memory researchers and clinicians that most people who were sexually abused as children remember all or part of what happened to them," though there is also agreement among most leaders in the field, "that although it is a rare occurrence, a memory of early childhood abuse that has been forgotten can be remembered later."<ref name="nytleaving"/> The allegations have been denied by Beck's mother and seven siblings.<ref name="nytleaving"/><ref name="wapoleaving"/><ref name="deseretleaving"/> The book prompted widespread reaction, much of it within the Mormon community, and an email campaign against the book's inclusion on [[Oprah Winfrey]]'s website as well as in her magazine.<ref name="nytleaving"/><ref name="wapoleaving"/> In her book she writes "The peculiar details of my memories had at first made me doubt myself -- they were so weird -- but in the end, reinforced my conviction that I hadn't unconsciously made something up."

A New York Times article sums up with "Church members are also angry that Beck jokes about aspects of the Mormon faith; for example, she refers to the religious garments that Mormons wear in their temples as "holy long johns." But the main complaint about "Leaving the Saints" is that Beck has targeted one of the most admired of all the Latter-day Saints. "Books by apostates from the church, they come along all the time," Wotherspoon, of Sunstone Magazine, said. "But an attack on Hugh Nibley -- to call Hugh Nibley a pedophile and a liar, with no evidence to back it up -- of course that is going to hit the Mormon community like an earthquake."

==Works==

;Books

{{refbegin}}

* {{cite book |last= Beck |first= Martha Nibley |author2= Beck, John C |year= 1990 |title= Breaking the Cycle of Compulsive Behavior |publisher= [[Deseret Book Company]] |___location= [[Salt Lake City]] |isbn= 978-0-87579-290-3 |oclc= 20799870 |url= https://archive.org/details/breakingcycleofc00beck }}

* {{cite book |last= Beck |first= Martha |author-mask= 2 |year= 1997 |title= Breaking Point: Why Women Fall Apart and How They Can Re-create Their Lives |___location= New York |publisher= [[Times Books]] |isbn= 978-0-8129-6375-5 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/breakingpointwhy0000beck }}

* {{cite book |last= Beck |first= Martha |author-mask= 2 |year= 1999 |title= Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic |publisher= Times Books |isbn= 978-0812929805 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/expectingadamtru0000beck }}

* {{cite book |last= Beck |first= Martha |author-mask= 2 |year= 2001 |title= Finding Your Own North Star |___location= New York |publisher= [[Crown Publishers]] |isbn= 978-0-8129-3218-8 }}

* {{cite book |last= Beck |first= Martha |author-mask= 2 |year= 2003 |title= The Joy Diet: 10 Daily Practices for a Happier Life |publisher= Crown Publishers |isbn= 978-0-609-60990-3 }}

<!-- * {{cite book |last= Beck |first= Martha |author-mask= 2 |year= 2005 |title= Wisdom from Finding Your Own North Star |publisher= Peter Pauper Press |isbn= 978-1-59359-979-9 }} - This is a mini gift book with excerpts from Finding Your Own North Star, and is not a distinct work -->

* {{cite book |last= Beck |first= Martha |author-mask= 2 |year= 2005 |title= Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith |url= https://archive.org/details/leavingsaintshow00beck |url-access= registration |publisher= Crown Publishers |isbn= 9780609609910 |oclc= 55494925 }}

* {{cite book |last= Beck |first= Martha |author-mask= 2 |year= 2007 |title= The Four Day Win: End Your Diet War and Achieve Thinner Peace |___location= Emmaus, Pennsylvania |publisher= [[Rodale Books]] |isbn= 978-1-59486-607-4 |url= https://archive.org/details/fourdaywinendyou00beck }}

* {{cite book |last= Beck |first= Martha |author-mask= 2 |year= 2009 |title= Steering by Starlight: The Science and Magic of Finding Your Destiny |publisher= Rodale Books |isbn= 978-1-60529-864-1 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/steeringbystarli00mart }}

* {{cite book |last= Beck |first= Martha |author-mask= 2 |year= 2011 |title= Finding Your Way in a Wild New World: Reclaim Your True Nature to Create the Life You Want |___location= New York |publisher= [[Free Press (publisher)|Free Press]] |isbn= 978-1-4516-2448-9 |url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781451624489 }}

* {{Cite book |last= Beck |first= Martha |author-mask= 2 |year= 2013 |title= The Martha Beck Collection: Essays on Creating Your Right Life |type= [[self-published]] |volume=1 |___location= San Luis Obispo, California |publisher= Martha Beck, Inc |isbn= 978-0989306706 }}

* {{Cite book |last= Beck |first= Martha |author-mask= 2 |year= 2016 |title= Diana, Herself: An Allegory of Awakening |type= [[self-published]] |___location= San Luis Obispo, California |publisher= Cynosure Publishing |isbn= 978-1944264000 }}

* {{Cite book |last= Beck |first= Martha |author-mask= 2 |year= 2021 |title= The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self |publisher= Penguin |type= [[The Open Field]]|isbn= 978-1984881489 }}

* {{Cite book |last= Beck |first= Martha |author-mask= 2 |year= 2024 |title= Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity and Finding Your Life's Purpose |publisher= Piatkus |isbn= 978-0349441719 }}

{{refend}}

;Thesis

*{{Cite thesis |last= Beck |first= Martha Nibley |year= 1994 |title= Flight from the iron cage: LDS women's responses to the paradox of modernization |type= PhD |publisher= Harvard University |oclc= 32034090 }}

==References==

{{reflist|2}}

==External links==

* {{Official website|http://marthabeck.com/}}

* {{citation |url= http://www.newleafspeakers.com/?page_id=18 |title = Martha Beck, PhD, Best-selling author, Columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine |date = August 27, 2014 }}

* {{citation |url= https://www.lyceumagency.com/speakers/martha-beck |title= Martha Beck: Life coach |work= Beck's professional speakers' agency |date= April 8, 2020 }}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Martha}}

[[Category:1962 births]]

[[Category:American women columnists]]

[[Category:Former Latter Day Saints]]

[[Category:American self-help writers]]

[[Category:American women sociologists]]

[[Category:American sociologists]]

[[Category:Brigham Young University faculty]]

[[Category:People excommunicated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]

[[Category:Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni]]

[[Category:American lesbian writers]]

[[Category:LGBTQ Latter Day Saints]]

[[Category:LGBTQ people from Utah]]

[[Category:Living people]]

[[Category:Mormonism-related controversies]]

[[Category:Life coaches]]

[[Category:American women non-fiction writers]]

[[Category:Writers from Provo, Utah]]

[[Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people]]

[[Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people]]