Robin Greene is the author of five books: The Shelf Life of Fire (novel, 2019), Augustus: Narrative of a Slave Woman (novel, 2011), Real Birth, Women Share Their Stories (nonfiction, 2015), Lateral Drift (poetry, 2002), Memories of Light (poetry, 1991), and she regularly publishes essays, poems, and fiction in journals.
A former award-winning English and Writing professor and director of a university writing center, Greene held an endowed chair and is a past recipient of a NEA/NC Arts Council fellowship in writing.
Greene served as a board member of the NC Writer’s Network and for years taught writing workshops in Mexico. She now writes fulltime, teaches yoga in western NC, hosts an annual women’s writing and yoga retreat, and serves as a writing mentor and editor. Additionally, Greene conducts workshops in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, grammar, and memoir.
Greene is a cofounder and board member of Longleaf Press (longleafpress.org) and founder and editor of Ley Lines Literary Review (leylinesliteraryreview.net), a new online literary journal.
Originally from Queens and Long Island, NY, Greene lives in Hendersonville, NC, with her husband. She holds an MFA in Writing and an MA in Literature.
Greene has recently completed a new novel, A Grammar of Unspeakable Things, and a new collection of poetry, Family Savasana, and is working on another novel. The third edition of her nonfiction book, Real Birth, Women Share Their Stories, is forthcoming in 2026.
Real Birth
"Highly recommended"
– Library Journal
Intimate and intensely personal, the forty-five first-person narratives contained in Real Birth: Women Share Their Stories offer readers a window into the complex and emotionally exciting experience of childbirth.
Women from a full range of socioeconomic backgrounds and circumstances recount the childbirth choices they’ve made and the ways those choices have played themselves out in the real life contexts of their everyday lives. Readers meet women from all over the country who speak to us directly––no interviewer intrudes, no judgments intrude, and no single method of childbirth is advocated. Instead, these women offer us their candid experiences, presented clearly and unflinchingly.
Medically reviewed by physicians Dr. Richard Randolph for the first edition and Dr. Deborah Morris for this second edition, Real Birth offers readers a plethora of correct information as well the kind of real scoop that other books and health care professionals are often reluctant to reveal. The result is a well-grounded book that reaches across the boundaries of childbirth literature. Real Birth is introduced by Ariel Gore, journalist, editor, writer, and founding editor/publisher of Hip Mama, an Alternative Press Award-winning publication about the culture of motherhood. Also included are an extensive glossary of medical terms, a thoroughly researched selective bibliography, and a list of resources of interest to pregnant women and new moms.
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The Shelf Life of Fire
Rachel, a middle-aged novelist and university professor in North Carolina, finds herself in a downward spiral when she learns that her brother Dennis, from whom she’s been estranged for decades, is dying. The news brings back memories she has long repressed.
As she reflects on how early trauma changed the trajectory of her life, Rachel remembers her youth and begins to rethink her role as a woman, a daughter, a wife, and a mother, reexamining the life she’s found herself living.
At times, Rachel's attempts to mine her own complicated past and to weave her memories into the fabric of her professional and creative work are laugh-out-loud funny; at other times, they're painful, though always off-beat and deeply intimate.
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Real Birth (Updated 3rd Edition)
This unique book features raw, unfiltered accounts of childbirth, showcasing the diverse journeys of first-time moms, mothers of multiples, and women who have given birth in hospitals, birthing centers, at home, and other unexpected places.
Reviewed for medical accuracy by leading physicians, Real Birth combines reliable medical information with deeply personal stories, offering insights that traditional birthing books often overlook. Complete with a medical glossary and helpful resources for pregnant women and new moms, this book is perfect for anyone seeking real, relatable perspectives on childbirth.
Empowering, informative, and deeply moving, Real Birth is a must-read for expectant mothers, new moms, and OB/GYN practitioners.
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