Read for bookgroup

If my fellow readers out there are looking for a true botany journey with beautiful writing, read Michael Christie's "Greenwood."

This is a fabulous read. I found it to be a real inspiration to me and perhaps others who love botany.

I will never look at a tree in quite the same way again after reading Hope Jahren's memoir of what it's like to be a woman and a scientist in the United States today. She combines her personal history with deep and engaging dives into the lives of different plants. How do cacti survive? How does one stand of trees give others of their species the weapons to fight off insects? How does a research scientist manage to keep a lab going when scrambling for funding seems to take as much time as doing the actual science? Jahren's writing is often funny, quite lyrical, and always thoughtful. And now I want to go plant a tree!

Take a peek at the life of a real woman doing real science in what is still a largely man's world. Hope found a way to be true to herself and do what she felt she was meant to do despite the many obstacles that block all of us as we pursue our dreams.

The bonus from reading about her personal journey is what you will learn about the green world of plants that surround us. Go ahead and hug a tree when you finish this book. You will understand why.

I appreciated the perspective of the book, written by a female scientist that was used to being told “no” because she was a girl and yet she always dreamed big to have her own research lab some day. When she reached that dream, she still had to overcome male bias while competing for grants and status amongst her peers. She writes like I would imagine that she talks in real life, down to earth, honest, no frills. At times sad when she writes about her feelings of loneliness, not belonging, and living with bipolar disorder. In one chapter she takes you through a bipolar episode, the extreme high followed by extreme low. It was only a couple of pages, but I had to read it twice. She’s odd and quirky, and so is her lab partner Bill. The mishaps and adventures they went through together are quite entertaining. Interweaved with her journey to becoming a successful tenured professor are bits and pieces of the journey seeds take to become trees and plants. After I finished this book, I wanted to hug a tree and plant a couple of seedlings.

Lovely

Part of former US President, Barack Obama's summer reading list for 2019.

I feel this is a good book for anyone debating whether they should pursue or avoid being a scientist. Hope Jahren is willing to do anything for her work, and finds her colleague Bill who is also a hardcore scientist. But it's a lifestyle few are meant for.....Interesting,despite the pacing being a bit weird, and I can't say I liked it, but I finally read it

Geobiologist Hope Jahren started life in small-town Austin, MN, and became the research scientist she dreamed. This is her story.

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, Jahren mixes her memoir with stories about trees and other plants she has studied and treasures. Like friend Anne who said this was a ‘must read,’ I, too, loved so much about this book. Wonderful writing. Makes you want to plant a tree!