A Life in Science

The process of “becoming” is inherently unique for each youngmind that chooses a career of scientific exploration and experimentation. Yet within each scientist’s story are themes of energizing curiosity, fulfillment emerging from discovery, and an instinctual desire for the freedom to explore and investigate. Laura L. Mays Hoopes, the Halstead-Bent Professor of Biology at Pomona College in Claremont, CA, has authored a book highlighting her remarkable path in science over the past 50 yr. In this fascinatingmemoir, youwill find the story of a woman in science, drawnwith wonder into the biosciences, specifically the study ofDNAand aging. Interwoven through her research career is the career of a teacher, a mentor who has welcomed hundreds of undergraduate students into her research laboratory, and who has taught thousands of students in college courses. This is a woman who distinctively chose a scientific career path in the early 1960s, a time when few women entered PhD programs in research science. This is also a story of her pursuit of balance between career and family, and offers painfully honest details of her struggle for that balance.When I picked up this book, I expected a history lesson;what I foundwas an inspirational experience,walking with this extraordinary woman through her life as a scientist.