We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
This book is in a Controlled Release!
1 journaler for this copy...
I absolutely loved this book!
The first 70 pages, you think this is going to be a regular family-relations story. But then one line in the book changes EVERYTHING! Of course I can’t reveal that one line and it determines so much of the story, that it is hard to say anything about the book without spoiling it.
The book is about the life of Rosemary, who spent half of her childhood being part of het father’s scientific experiment. Being an academic researcher myself, I found a lot of the quotes in the book relatable.
“You learn as much from failure as from success, Dad always says. Though no one admires you for it.“
I should get that one printed on postcards and hand it out to my phd-students/postdocs whenever we have a failed experiment. Or maybe not. I will run out of postcards within a week. Because, science...
“There's science and there's science, is all I'm saying. Where humans are the subjects, it's mostly not science”
This is something we sometimes joke about at work. We are all into cell biology, medical science, cancer research... that sort of thing. For us everything is about control groups and limiting variation and knowing all the parameters. Compared to that, social sciences are just messy. Because humans are messy. That’s why so many drugs fail when they get into clinical trials ;)
Needless to say the book is very witty and funny. But there’s also a sadness that sometimes almost takes your breath away. It’s beautifully written and the story is extraordinary. Probably the best book I’ve read this year.
The first 70 pages, you think this is going to be a regular family-relations story. But then one line in the book changes EVERYTHING! Of course I can’t reveal that one line and it determines so much of the story, that it is hard to say anything about the book without spoiling it.
The book is about the life of Rosemary, who spent half of her childhood being part of het father’s scientific experiment. Being an academic researcher myself, I found a lot of the quotes in the book relatable.
“You learn as much from failure as from success, Dad always says. Though no one admires you for it.“
I should get that one printed on postcards and hand it out to my phd-students/postdocs whenever we have a failed experiment. Or maybe not. I will run out of postcards within a week. Because, science...
“There's science and there's science, is all I'm saying. Where humans are the subjects, it's mostly not science”
This is something we sometimes joke about at work. We are all into cell biology, medical science, cancer research... that sort of thing. For us everything is about control groups and limiting variation and knowing all the parameters. Compared to that, social sciences are just messy. Because humans are messy. That’s why so many drugs fail when they get into clinical trials ;)
Needless to say the book is very witty and funny. But there’s also a sadness that sometimes almost takes your breath away. It’s beautifully written and the story is extraordinary. Probably the best book I’ve read this year.
Sending this book to a friend.
