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A review by daumari
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
5.0
I'd heard some buzz about this, and saw it on the 14 day limit shelf at my local library but didn't get around to it until the day before it was due. I wish I had started earlier though, because much of [a:Hope Jahren|14104736|Hope Jahren|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1441827865p2/14104736.jpg]'s writing is clear, moving, and ever so quotable. Part memoir, part paleobiology facts (from a biochemical perspective), part reflections on what it is to be a female scientist in today's world, this book is easily my favorite so far this year.
Jahren is also unapologetic when describing having mental health issues while trying to be a functional scientist, let alone person, which is something I can really identify with currently. Less identifiable is finishing a PhD in four years then going straight from that to a professor position at age 26...! But I think that speaks more to how academia's landscape has changed in the last twenty years rather than any kind of science precociousness.
Jahren is also unapologetic when describing having mental health issues while trying to be a functional scientist, let alone person, which is something I can really identify with currently. Less identifiable is finishing a PhD in four years then going straight from that to a professor position at age 26...! But I think that speaks more to how academia's landscape has changed in the last twenty years rather than any kind of science precociousness.