A review by shannonreadssometimes
The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist by Ben Barres

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.0

First of all it feels really weird to try and rate someone's autobiography?? especially one like this, wrote after a terminal diagnosis, from someone who did so much influential world changing work. let it be said that I admire Ben Barres to the highest degree!! 

 it was one of my resolutions to read more non fiction so, yay🎉 ofc it was LGBT. but don't be fooled, I'd say maybe 20% of this was about Ben's transness, 30% about gender bias and women in science, and the rest a whole lot of very sciencey science. it truly is wild that I learned some of this stuff in school and yet never heard of the transgender scientist that discovered it! what that would have done for me in my youth.

ngl, I had to try very hard not to zone out during the sciencey stuff- although his discoveries are truly fascinating! I think during highschool I had it drilled into me that I was not mathematical enough to even enjoy anything like that, despite having an A in my psychology a-level and am studying nursing now 😂 but I really want to challenge myself and learn more, especially when it comes to lgbt history. 

this had some really poignant points on women in stem, and just how much is stacked against them,  even today. but honestly my favourite part was how he talked about his students. as a student nurse, I am assigned to a random nurse who 9 times out of 10 does not want a student. I am grateful for all that they do for me, but GOD do I wish they'd take a leaf out of Ben Barres book (literally!)!

this is a great read for anyone who's into anything sciencey, or anyone who wants to pull a trump card at their next transphobic family dinner and tell them about this truly extraordinary man. I lost count of how many years he spent in education but it was surely at least 20odd😭😂