Hope Jahren writes like poetry. Every word is deliberate and carefully chosen to evoke the exact emotion she wants from the reader. She brings you wholly into the world of being a female scientist through her vivid language and her clear passion for her work. It is easy to imagine how a book about a “lab girl” could be dull and lifeless, but Jahren brings her passions to life through her colorful descriptions, very human struggles, and crazy antics. Like Jahren herself, this book is multifaceted, exploring the intimate lives of plants, her personal struggles with anxiety, mania, and depression, and her quirky platonic relationship with a broken man.

Jahren is a woman like all of us. Her storytelling is so down to earth, it is effortless to connect with her. In particular, in Part Two, Chapter 9, Jahren describes her personal mental health crisis that led her to seek professional help. Her experiences with anxiety and manic depression are so human, and she doesn’t hold anything back when describing them. I listened to the audiobook, where Jahren herself is the narrator, and she brought even more emotion into her words because the reader can hear her tearing up as she tells the story. It is like listening to your best friend relate the story of her life. You can feel her emotion, and it is utterly captivating. The book is not only a story about Jahren’s passion for scientific discovery, but a story of her friendship with a private and troubled man, her terror of becoming a mother, and her relationship with herself. It is a powerful and emotional rollercoaster.

I connected with Jahren right away with her descriptions of growing up in rural Minnesota in a Scandinavian family where sharing personal struggles is looked down on. Jahren learned early on to hide her emotions and push herself into her work, often neglecting her own mental health. I was surprised to learn that she now lives in Hawaii, which was another connection her and I shared. It was refreshing to read a life story about someone so similar to me. I also really appreciated Jahren’s discussion of grant funding and how difficult it is to secure money to continue working toward your passions for scientists in general, and for female scientists especially.

Unlike many other books about being a scientist that only show the idealized version where everything works on the first try, money is never an issue, and maintaining a healthy work/life relationship is easy, Jahren goes a different route. She chooses to showcase the sleepless nights, anxiety over funding, near deadly mistakes, and fear of failure in career and in life. Jahren brings all of that down to earth and shows the REAL life of a scientist. At one point she says, “What if I’m just not smart enough?” which is something I certainly can relate to, and I’m sure many others can as well. Everyone would have something to gain by reading this book, but I especially recommend it to women working in a predominantly man’s world.

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Created Feb 05, 2019 at 9:04am • Submit your own review...