Martha Beck, the author of The Way of Integrity, is a prominent voice in self-help circles, to which she brings a level of professional expertise and an informative perspective based on her own personal experiences. Her academic training is in sociology, in which she holds a PhD from Harvard University. She previously taught as a professor in institutions of higher learning in Utah and Arizona but no longer pursues an academic career in teaching or research publications.

As a field, sociology gives Beck unique insights into the way that human behavior interacts with broader cultural realities—insights that she also develops through her experience as a life coach with an active clientele. It is important to note, however, that while Beck makes frequent use of psychological and neurological concepts in her writing, she is not trained or licensed in psychology, psychiatry, or neurology. As such, the counsel she gives is best understood through the context of self-help advice such as one might receive from a life coach, and not as counsel from a professional psychiatric assessment.

Beck also brings a unique set of personal experiences to her writing, which she candidly addresses.