bio

Thais is a feminist scholar and activist who thinks and writes about the social power structures over the female body. Her writing spans many forms including fiction, non-fiction, personal essay, and memoir. A merit-scholar graduate of the California College of the Arts, Thais holds a master’s level degree in fiction writing (MFA).

Published nationally and internationally in print and online, Thais's work ranges from her book-length memoir, a novel-in-progress, a creative-nonfiction essay in the She’s Got This anthology, and other publications, most notably in Salon.com, SFGate, BabyCenter, Marin Independent Journal, and Birth Issues Magazine.

Interviewed on NPR and KPFA radio stations, Thais speaks at women's health conferences on self-advocacy while pregnant and birthing. Her book, "Second Chance: A Mother's Quest for a Natural Birth After a Cesarean," has won multiple awards including the Winner of the Independent Press Award.

Her book has helped many people navigate childbirth in the United States.

Thais Derich was born in Carmel, CA. She graduated from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. While in college, she spent two years living in Belgium and France studying French before returning to Northern California. In 2003, after working for large and small software companies, Thais started her own software training company, allowing her to travel around the United States teaching software operations at Fortune-500 companies. She co-authored business books and taught at the University of California Berkeley Extension program. A few years later, she and her husband decided to start a family, of which the affects written about in her book, prompted Thais to leave the business to stay at home to raise her sons herself. During that time, she dabbled in her passion for writing by starting a successful food blog, and, most notably, she focused on writing her memoir, Second Chance.

Thais continues her scholarly work while researching ectogenesis for her second book and applying to Ph.D. programs.

She lives in beautiful Marin County with her husband, two boys, and the dog.