Blog Post #7: Why did Hope Jahren dedicate her book to her mother?

Amity Tran

HON 101

Schultz

13 October 2016

Blog Post #7: Why did Hope Jahren dedicate her book to her mother?

As you flip open the pages of Lab Girl, one of the very first sentences you see is,”Everything that I write is dedicated to my mother.” I had not read the book yet, but when I read this, I thought that Hope Jahren was raised in a single parent household. However, early on in the book, I found out that she actually grew up with both of her parents. I wondered why she would not dedicate her work to both her mother and father. Hope Jahren did not think her father was a bad father, so why is her book dedicated only to her mother.

Her mother is a very intelligent woman who was awarded an honorable mention in a nationwide talent search and in 1951, studied chemistry at the University of Minnesota while babysitting to support herself. Unfortunately, she was unable to complete her education because she did not have the time to go to class and make enough money to pay for her tuition. Her mother inevitably had to drop out. This led to having to lead a life that was expected of a woman at the time: getting married and having kids. Hope Jahren, on the other hand, is a geobiologist and geochemist who has authored numerous scientific articles and has won many awards in her field.

Lab Girl is dedicated to her mother because Hope Jahren wants her mother to experience the career and recognition should have been hers. Hope Jahren writes that she is “an extension of [her] mother: a do-over to make real the life [her mother] deserved and should have had.” Her mother was highly capable of achieving everything Jahren was able to achieve and much more, but due to the social constructs of her time, it was just too difficult for a female to get a degree in higher education, especially a degree in science. In 1951, it was a man’s world. There was little to no opportunity for a woman to excel outside of her home.