Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory

The personal stories that comprise Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory not only show the many ways in which women can successfully combine motherhood and a career in science but also address and redefine what it means to be a successful scientist.

Emily Monosson is an independent toxicologist. She lives in Montague, Massachusetts. Visit her blog for Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory at sciencemoms.wordpress.com.

Women trying to squeeze a career and family duties into one 24-hour day will gain much affirmation from this collection of essays. The writers, who all balance science careers and motherhood, provide a fascinating insight into a world too often kept hidden. For those without children it should come with a health warning: the juggling and compromises these women have learned to live with may add up to a sobering reality check for those who still think they can have it all. For some it may prove a powerful contraceptive.

In these heartrending essays, women who are well-trained and well-situated in science detail the compromises they have made in order to raise children and be scientists.... The women who succeed—and there are many in this volume—are those whose partners take an equal share of the responsibility for raising a family and making the household function.

Alice L. Givan:

Emily Monosson has edited a very interesting book. She has collected essays written by 34 female scientists on how they managed to combine being a scientist with being a mother. It is regrettable that the subject of this book has continued to be relevant despite many decades of struggle by scientists to find a balance between work and family. The problem remains unsolved.

Joan C. Williams, Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California Hastings College of the Law:

The stories in Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory are captivating and the picture of science as a field was truly sobering. I found myself thinking about the authors' fascinating stories long after I finished reading this book.

Phoebe Leboy, University of Pennsylvania, President, Association for Women in Science:

At last—a book to convince women scientists that there is life beyond the professoriate. These brief life stories demonstrate that women professionals do not have to play by men's rules to have a career. They also show the world that women scientists are not only literate but also witty.

Jo Handelsman, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor and Chair, Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin–Madison:

Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory is an engaging, moving, and informative book. It depicts the challenge of combining a career in science with motherhood, using the voices of real women to portray the diversity of possible experiences.