Mary Rose O'Reilley teaches English at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. She received her B.A. from the College of St. Catherine and her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She completed certification in the two-year spiritual guidance program of the Shalem Institute and took Buddhist precepts as a lay practitioner at Plum Village, Duras, France. Mary combines teaching with contemplative education in the Christian and Buddhist traditions and has received an ACLS Contemplative Studies Fellowship as well as numerous other awards for teaching and writing.