This is a tough book for me to review as it was not what I expected. I am one of those people who will stop and pick up a rock while walking on a beach, or a road, or in the woods. I will pick it up and look at it and see if it has something to show or tell me. I requested this book thinking the author might feel as I do about rocks and stones. But because the author is a scientist, they are approached, of course, scientifically. Between the authors' personal life and her professional life, there was a lot going on. I steadily became uninterested in her personal life and felt that she lost the wonder of stones. But again, I may have misinterpreted the description of the book. I thank NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the advance read.