Marilyn Martin is a writer and learning specialist in private practice who works with children with dyslexia and nonverbal learning disabilities. She holds a B.A in English literature from the University of Chicago, a Masters Degree in learning and reading disabilities from Vermont College of Union Institute, and an MFA in nonfiction from Bennington College. She has twice been awarded fellowships to the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. Her essays have appeared in Third Coast, Gulf Coast, Catamaran, Lake Effect, Chautauqua and elsewhere. She is the author of the nonfiction book, Helping Children with Nonverbal Learning Disabilities to Flourish, and her personal essays have been cited as notable essays in Best American Essays 2016 and 2018.
“My Father’s Iris”
LIT Magazine
Fall 2024
“Seeing With My Own Eyes”
Prose.onl
March 2023
“Learning to Dress for the Weather”
Under the Gum Tree
Spring 2020
“Daphne and the Bear”
Blue Stern
Spring 2020
“The Scapular”
Best American Essays 2018
Named as a notable essay
“The Sound of Grief Like This”
Lake Effect
Spring 2018
“The Scapular”
Catamaran Literary Reader
Fall 2017
"State of Grace"
Best American Essays 2016
Named as a notable essay
"State of Grace"
Third Coast 40
2016
“Chameleons”
Border Crossing 5
2015
nominated for a Pushcart Prize
“Swimming with Snakes”
Chautauqua: Wonders of the World 11
2014
“The Egg Man”
New Madrid
Winter 2013
“The Treachery of Trees”
Gulf Coast 24.2
2012
“In Her Day”
The MacGuffin 28.2
2012
“My Father’s Tears”
Southern Indiana Review 18.1
2011
Helping Children with Nonverbal Learning Disabilities to Flourish
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
2007
… packed with relevant and useful understandings that can be taken into an educational psychologist's practice when working with schools. - Debate
This is also a positive, practical and essentially hopeful book… I imagine that many parents will find the chapter on 'the importance of the family' a real tonic. It is realistic about the challenges families face, but also provides some heartening, straightforward advice. I felt quite inspired and emotional while reading this book. It is hopeful and deep. It reminded me…how a teacher's or therapist's sensitivity and openness to new ideas can be valuable as in-depth knowledge…A very good book. - Special Children
Imagine getting lost in your own home, forgetting where the bathroom is at work… These are just some of the myriad challenges faced by individuals with a Nonverbal Learning Disability, or NLD. In Helping Children With Nonverbal Learning Disabilities to Flourish, Marilyn Martin gives an overview of NLD and strategies for teaching individuals with this disability. Using examples of her struggles to help her daughter, who has NLD, as well as current research, she has written a book helpful for both parents and professionals… - Foreword Reviews