Gifty is a PhD candidate in neuroscience at the Stanford University School of Medicine, where she studies reward-seeking behavior in mice to understand the neural pathways of addiction and depression. Her research is a direct response to her childhood in Alabama, shaped by her brother Nana’s fatal heroin overdose and her mother’s subsequent suicidal withdrawal. Gifty navigates the tension between her rigorous biological training and the Pentecostal faith of her upbringing, seeking a physical explanation for the spiritual and emotional suffering that fractured her Ghanaian immigrant family.
This book serves readers interested in the intersection of hard science and religious dogma. It appeals to those who want to understand how trauma influences professional ambition and how the scientific method attempts to quantify human grief. The reader finishes the story with a clinical yet intimate perspective on the opioid crisis and an understanding of how individuals reconcile an adult commitment to logic with the pervasive influence of childhood evangelicalism.
Deep, inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Mindful Reader. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2020
- Language
- EN
