At the age of fourteen, Amy Wright Glenn began to question the Mormon faith of her family. She embarked on a life long personal and scholarly quest for truth. While teaching comparative religion and philosophy, Amy was drawn to the work of supporting women through labor and holding compassionate space for the dying. Amy shares moving tales of birth and death while drawing on her work as a birth doula, hospital chaplain, and her own experience of motherhood. We are born, we die, and in between these irrevocable facts of human existence the breath weaves all moments together. "Birth, Breath, and Death" entwines story, philosophy, and poetic reflection into transforming narratives that are full of grace.


Every book has a birth story.... I wrote "Birth, Breath, and Death" while my son slept. Over the course of five months, I awoke with sentences flowing through my mind. While my little one drifted through dreamland, I roused myself from slumber to honor the muse speaking to my soul.
?Having experienced the profoundly intense transformation of motherhood, a significant career shift, and the immensity of a new love coursing through my being, I needed to write. I needed to integrate stories from my work with the dying, the birthing, and my teaching days with my love for philosophy and wonder.
Opening to new life through labor and delivery entailed the humbling opportunity to see anew a pristine vista clarifying what matters most. Love matters. Service matters. Life matters. My meditations on motherhood, chaplaincy,and life as a doula come from the depth of my heart. May my words help you to refine what matters most as you honor your own heart's wisdom.