Hope Jahren is a paleobiologist. She
studies the lifecycle and evolution of trees. Her autobiography (Lab Girl)
intertwines her experiences as a woman scientist, a person with bipolar
disorder, and a mother. The biographical chapters are alternated with chapters
on the biology of trees. Both threads are fascinating.
Some of the book is about the science
of plants, including many things that are only known because of her research.
Other parts describe the struggle to succeed as a female scientist and person
with bipolar disorder. There is also a lot about the life of a scientist. Her
family is mentioned, but it is not central to the story. Why? Because this book is really dedicated to
Bill.
Early in graduate school, she meets an
undergraduate named Bill. In addition to Hope’s story, and the science, this
book is about Bill. Dr. Jahren is a Ph.D., prize-winning scientist, tenured
professor, with a husband and child. Bill is her assistant, often without a
place to live. This book is their story.
Before long we were telling each other
the stories of this book. I am amazed to realize that these stories now span
about twenty years. During this time, we’ve gotten three degrees, worked six
jobs, lived in four countries and traveled through sixteen more…
This is a summary of the results of
their partnership, but it is bittersweet, as all the credit went to Dr. Jahren
for work done in The Jahren Lab funded by her grants and winning her prizes and
acclaim. She is the one with a marriage and family. Bill is featured and
praised in this book as something of a consolation prize and maybe an apology.
An interesting thought experiment
would be to imagine the situation if the genders had been reversed, as has been
more typical over the years.
The science of life and the life of
scientists. The story of one person and the entire planet.
No comments:
Post a Comment