When Memoir Hyrbrids Go Wrong

I did not like Hope Jahren's Lab Girl, and I feel slightly bad saying that. Why? Well, she seems like a nice and is a successful person. She's gotten a ton of awards and accolades, and she's a pioneer as a woman and a human in her field, which has something to do with botany. But for me, this book was a fail. First of all, the nature writing parts were a snooze. And I'm not opposed to nature writing, because this book has some of it, and I ate that book with a spoon. But this is just ... I don't know? Clinical? Disconnected? Something? Speaking of disconnected, the narrative that is supposed to be the memoir part of this memoir and science writing book doesn't work. It's like a hundred pages of workaholism. Then, wait, she's bipolar or maybe manic-depression, I'm not even clear, and then it's back to work. And then she gets pregnant, and she ends up beating her head into a wall or something, and then thankfully for her when she gets to her third trimester she gets on anti-psychotic medication, and then back to business as usual. A lot of the book is her obsessed with her lab partner named Bill who is sort of tempestuous and rude. Which is fine, but maybe if she spent more of the book explaining anything she learned about herself or her mental state issues, I would've enjoyed it more. Instead, it's like pop a pill and move on to the next thing. I don't recommend it.

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