Summary of Lab Girl: by Hope Jahren | Includes Analysis

In her memoir Lab Girl, Hope Jahren describes the life she's lived and the knowledge she's learned as a scientist trying to find her way in the world. Focusing mostly on a period of professional development that stretches from 1997 to 2008, the bulk of the narrative follows Jahren from her first appointment as a professor in Atlanta to her current job at the University of Hawaii. Navigating personal and professional challenges including bipolar disorder, meager budgets, and sexist work environments, Jahren and her eccentric lab manager, Bill, learn a lot about themselves, each other, and the mysterious lives of plants. Growing up in Minnesota, Hope feels starved for human connection. Her parents and her three older brothers are quiet, distant, and seemingly emotionless. The only sure love in her life is the feeling she experiences in her father's laboratory, a place where she feels happy and curious...