Ashley received her Ph.D. in English from the University of Texas at Austin in 2012. Her research and teaching are inspired by writing pedagogy, American literature, Western religion, and the medical humanities. Her book project, Healing the Nation: Literature, Progress and Christian Science, which was published by Indiana University Press in 2017, investigates the impact of Christian Science on late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century American literature. Her articles appear in Arizona Quarterly, American Literary Realism, Studies in the Novel, Book History, and Literature Compass.