Unrooted is one scientist’s story of what led her to the field of Botany, the changes she witnessed within the grind of academia as she pursued her PhD, and the impossibility of finding employment in her field after proudly earning her doctorate (a situation made dramatically worse once she became a mother). Erin Zimmerman writes in a clear and engaging voice — whether describing the electric jolt of reading Charles Darwin’s own handwriting on a specimen’s label at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, or the indignity of having to squirrel herself away in a musty change room to pump breast milk as a postdoc, this is a beautiful blend of memoir, science history, and an impassioned defence of the importance of her disappearing field of expertise. This is exactly the sort of thing I like — I learned a lot and was affected, heart and mind; I couldn’t ask for more and wish Dr Zimmerman nothing but success.

An illuminating read about the unique challenges woman face in science most especially if they chose to have families.

This was incredibly interesting. I've been interested in learning more about this for a long time and found it to be easy to read and informative.

Fascinating , intriguing and beautiful written Unrooted brings readers into the world of natural history in an approachable and meaningful way highlighting this important scientific work and how many women as slowly being pushed out of science because motherhood is not accommodated and space is not made for a women to hold both roles.
Highly recommend and will be interested to see what she writes next.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the early digital copy