Hope Jahren and her mother

Hope Jahren, a biogeochemist, writes about her experiences in the laboratory in an enthralling memoir, Lab Girl, about both her life experiences as well as her scientific discoveries. Before anything else however, she writes, “Everything that I write is dedicated to my mother.” Throughout the book, it is clear that Jahren has a close relationship with her mother, despite the traditional emotional distances between Scandinavian families. Her mother always had a system for gardening efficiently and productively. She chose to grow plants that she would not have to nurse, but selected vegetables that could take care of themselves. Jahren admires her mother for being as tough and sturdy and strong-minded as the vegetables that her mother preferred to grow. Her mother was very practical and seemed to know the ins and outs of life; she knew how to stitch buttons depending on how often it would be used and she knew how to pick berries to prevent clogging the strainer. Jahren looked up to her mother because she was always thinking ahead, even when she did not have to.

Most importantly, Jahren viewed her mother as a source of inspiration. She knew that her mother’s life was not easy, but she managed to find a way to succeed. Her mother had received an honorable mention and went to college regardless of the shortage of money, and only dropped out when she had no other choice. When she moved back home, she started a family and had four children, but did not stop there. After raising her kids for twenty years, she went back to school to earn a bachelor’s degree in English literature. She learned from her mother that how to read and love difficult books. Although Jahren found a stronger interest in the fields of science, she still uses the valuable lessons that her mother taught her.