SWE MN recently read The Lab Girl by Hope Jahren.
Read the book or thinking about it? Read Jill Morris' review to find out more!
Hope Jahren’s memoir of her scientific journey begins in Minnesota where “the spring thaw happens all at once” (13) and you can “hear the plants growing” (14) overnight. Do you hear it? Spring is here… finally. “But the growing season is short, so there’s no time to be wasted” (13). Hope Jahren’s career to become a geobiologist takes her through battles with mental health, sexism, and through the quest to learn as much as possible about the trees and soil around us. Like a Minnesota spring season, there is no time to be wasted in her scientific journey. Much of this novel is relatable, from her descriptions of Minnesota winters to her confrontations of sexism in the work place. More importantly, her clear precise descriptions of her mental health battles teach us more about the importance of mental health awareness and support.
Jahren provides poetic descriptions of all things green to make you want to go out and plant a tree. Jahren more importantly, captures the trials and tribulations of a female scientist in a male dominated industry. Like many of us her “desire to become a scientist was founded upon a deep instinct and nothing more; [she] never heard a single story about a living female scientist, never met one or even saw one on television” (18). Through her experience she notes “sexism has been something very simple: the cumulative weight of constantly being told that you can’t possibly be what you are” (183).
You should read this book for so many reasons, to celebrate Earth Day, to bask in the poetic seasons of Minnesota winter and spring, rejoice in the fact that spring is finally here, reminisce on the joys of learning and curiosity, absorb knowledge about the composition of soil, recall the battles you might of faced in a male-dominated profession, to be grateful for our progress, to understand more about mental health. Just read this book, and then go plant some trees. Remember “one-third of the Earth’s land used to be covered in forest. Every ten years, we cut down about 1 percent of this total forest, never to be regrown” (4).
Read the book or thinking about it? Read Jill Morris' review to find out more!
Hope Jahren’s memoir of her scientific journey begins in Minnesota where “the spring thaw happens all at once” (13) and you can “hear the plants growing” (14) overnight. Do you hear it? Spring is here… finally. “But the growing season is short, so there’s no time to be wasted” (13). Hope Jahren’s career to become a geobiologist takes her through battles with mental health, sexism, and through the quest to learn as much as possible about the trees and soil around us. Like a Minnesota spring season, there is no time to be wasted in her scientific journey. Much of this novel is relatable, from her descriptions of Minnesota winters to her confrontations of sexism in the work place. More importantly, her clear precise descriptions of her mental health battles teach us more about the importance of mental health awareness and support.
Jahren provides poetic descriptions of all things green to make you want to go out and plant a tree. Jahren more importantly, captures the trials and tribulations of a female scientist in a male dominated industry. Like many of us her “desire to become a scientist was founded upon a deep instinct and nothing more; [she] never heard a single story about a living female scientist, never met one or even saw one on television” (18). Through her experience she notes “sexism has been something very simple: the cumulative weight of constantly being told that you can’t possibly be what you are” (183).
You should read this book for so many reasons, to celebrate Earth Day, to bask in the poetic seasons of Minnesota winter and spring, rejoice in the fact that spring is finally here, reminisce on the joys of learning and curiosity, absorb knowledge about the composition of soil, recall the battles you might of faced in a male-dominated profession, to be grateful for our progress, to understand more about mental health. Just read this book, and then go plant some trees. Remember “one-third of the Earth’s land used to be covered in forest. Every ten years, we cut down about 1 percent of this total forest, never to be regrown” (4).