Amy is a graduate of Vassar College, where she studied English and Cognitive Science, and of the University of Arizona in Tucson, where she received her MFA in Creative Writing. Her work draws on her science background to explore such diverse areas as the impact of brain injury on family life and the personal struggles of devoted scientists. She is also interested in the role of myth and legend in storytelling.
While at the University of Arizona, Amy served as Editor-in-Chief of the Sonora Review, the oldest student-run literary magazine in the country, and worked as a Graduate Assistant in Teaching, instructing undergraduate students in composition and fiction writing.