Denise Gelberg

Lucky Girl Denise Gelberg

"Lucky Girl is the profoundly moving story of a woman who with brilliance, passion, and support from an extraordinary family overcomes common barriers that long kept most women out of high-powered science. I had to stop several times and remind myself that this is a novel, not the biography of a flesh and blood scientist. A brilliant book. I wept and cheered for the heroine."

Nancy Hopkins
Amgen Inc. Professor of Biology emerita
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mothers in Science, on Lucky Girl "...a wonderful novel with a captivating story that both reflects the scientific and personal worlds of a mother in STEMM- we loved it!"

Denise Gelberg's novel "Lucky Girl" is both a wonderful and heartbreaking story of Irene Adelson, a mother in science who could be any of us. Irene is a smart woman, passionate about science but struggling to succeed in the male-dominated STEMM sector, where sexual harassment and gender discrimination are rife.

Irene was an introverted child born after WWII to a working class family from Brooklyn, New York. Despite facing many career and personal challenges, she becomes a medical doctor and a successful scientist, eventually achieving the highest recognition in science - being awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize.

Irene's journey portrays a realistic image of the struggles that women and mothers in STEMM have been facing for decades in their professional and private lives.

During this journey, Irene experiences sexual assault, discrimination and ridicule, often deliberately inflicted on her to discredit and destroy her career. Yet, she persists and somehow finds the strength to overcome these barriers.
The author gives Irene the depth and humanity that many readers wish to see in trailblazing characters. She's both an inspirational role model but also someone we can all relate to, which is unfortunately rare in the history of women in science, as most successful women in STEMM are often unrealistically portrayed as superheroes.

This is a wonderful novel with a captivating story that both reflects the scientific and personal worlds of a mother in STEMM- we loved it!
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