Breaking Through: My Life in Science

I read this in two sittings - including one 3-hour sit while my arm was tattooed and very loud Latin pop blared. The music was often in sync with the story's emotional beats!

So this is a memoir by Katalin Kariko, a Hungarian biochemist who won the Nobel for Medicine/Physiology in 2023 for her work on the mRNA Covid vaccine. I had read one other article about Kariko, basically exclaiming how incredible her win was, given that she spent almost her entire academic career languishing as a poorly-paid, non-tenured, postdoc-type. If you've ever spent any time around academia, that is remarkable indeed. AND OOOHH THE JUSTICE!!!! (everyone hates academia's dumb power politics)

And I did love her underog-triumphs conclusion, but I also, well, just loved her heart of gold, pure of spirit LOVE/obsession with science. And her nerdiness, and her sassiness, and - tbh - her writing! I was like, HOW is this woman who claims to care about nothing beyond the cell SUCH A GOOD WRITER? I laughed and teared up several times. Honestly, I just loved spending time with her and sharing her life with her. A really warm, inspiring story!