She is the author of a memoir, Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, and the Founding Editor-in-Chief of No Tokens Journal.

[3] Of her multiracial upbringing, she has said:"My mother, as a Chinese Hawaiian woman, was raised in a Mormon household with Buddhist grandparents.

She facilitates writing workshops for homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals and currently teaches at Mount Holyoke College.

"[6] In The New York Times, Tessa Fontaine said of Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, "This is a fearless debut that carries as much tenderness as pain.

The author never shrinks from putting herself back into the world after every hurt, and we are lucky for it...it's all compulsively readable, not just because of those big themes, but because of the embodied, needle-fine moments that make the stories sing.

"[10] Electric Literature said, "What makes Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls so exceptional is the compassion Madden brings to the page.

"[11] In NPR, Ilana Masad said, "In baring the bad and ugly alongside the good, Madden has succeeded in creating a mirror of larger concerns, even as her own story is achingly specific and personal.

"[12] Kirkus Reviews said, "Though the author's aching emotional rawness sometimes makes for difficult reading, this is a deeply courageous work that chronicles one artist's jagged—and surprisingly beautiful—path to wholeness.