Off the Bookshelf: A MIND OF HER OWN, by Paula McLain

An Audible Original.

Paula McLain brings an all-too-brief glimpse into the life and mind of Madame Curie during her studies at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Thanks to the oppression of the Czar, the people of Poland are denied higher education. That, combined with the social attitude that women can't handle scientific studies, makes it an uphill climb for Marie. Somehow, she finds a way to go to Paris to pursue her studies, despite the odds. She's alone, studying hard to prove herself, living in a cold garret, so focused on her studies, and later on her work, that she has no social life and few friends.

Men are essentially the enemy, a distraction, a wall to her dreams of scientific discovery. But slowly, she triumphs through her brilliance and devotion to her studies. Then Pierre Curie, already making a name for himself in science and academia, is introduced to her. Matters of the heart become the enemy as well, an even bigger distraction.

I wish this performance by Hillary Huber, the narrator, had been much longer. There is so much more to learn from inside the mind and heart of this ground-breaking woman. Fascinating, so the time went by far too quickly when I listened.