Every Other Thursday: Stories and Strategies from Successful Women Scientists

by Ellen Daniell

Overview

A book about the power of not trying to navigate a career path alone

This book tells the story of a professional problem-solving group that for more than 25 years has empowered its members by providing practical and emotional support. The objective of “Group,” as Ellen Daniell and six other members call their bimonthly gatherings, is cooperation in a competitive world. And the objective of Every Other Thursday is to encourage those who feel isolated or stressed in a work or academic setting to consider the benefits of such a group—a group in which everyone is on your side.
 
Each of the high-achieving individuals in Group (including members of the National Academy of Sciences, a senior scientist at a prestigious research institute, and university professors and administrators) has found the support of the others to be an essential part of her own success. Daniell provides detailed examples of how members help one another navigate career setbacks or other difficulties. She shows that group support, discussion, and application of common experience bring to light practical solutions and broader perspectives. In an inspirational conclusion, the author offers advice and practical guidelines for those who would like to establish a group of their own.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300133790
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	03/01/2006
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	333 KB

About the Author

Ellen Daniell is a writer and consultant. She was assistant professor of molecular biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and has held management positions in human resources and patent licensing in the biotechnology industry.

Editorial Reviews

Molecular biologist Daniell and fellow women scientists created a support network to commiserate and strategize about the difficulties of being female in the still male-dominated world of science. Founded on the precepts of radical psychiatry, the group (called simply Group) gathers every other week with a format that will be familiar to anyone who's sat through a women's group session: time is set aside for each member to discuss issues in her life, and others encourage her to verbalize all of her emotions while offering support. The lesson that a feminine support system is important to a modern career-driven woman is not new, nor is it limited to science. But the book's real failing is that instead of addressing Group members' journeys through science as women, it focuses on the same career roadblocks, personal disasters and need for self-empowerment that one finds in any self-help book ("I am entitled to be myself. I'm entitled to be successful"). Rather than hard-nosed help for aspiring young women scientists, this book, while it includes interesting passages on the machinations of university politics, essentially offers material that should best have remained within the Group. (Mar.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Part engaging memoir, part career advice, this volume tells the story of "Group," a long-running "professional problem-solving group" of seven women scientists who help each other deal with the challenges inherent in a successful scientific career (e.g., salary discrimination, tenure, managing difficult employees) and provide support for the trials faced in their personal lives. Conceived in the model of radical psychiatry, the group offers a venue for members to help themselves rather than turning to doctors and therapists. Daniell, a scientist, writer, and longtime Group member, follows the personal narratives with a discussion of Group procedures, maintaining the engaging tone that enlivens the entire volume. Chapters are organized around the type of support provided. Although the narrative focuses on women scientists in academic careers, the appeal of this empowering work will go beyond that circle. The support system described would be very valuable in a wide variety of venues. Highly recommended for all academic and public libraries.-Barbarly Korper McConnell, California State Univ., Fullerton Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

"This is an excellent book. I wish I had had a copy to read when I started my career."—Rita Colwell, University of Maryland

Rita Colwell

"Every Other Thursday is brilliant. This is a page-turner for scientists and psychologists, for professors and for students who would be professors."—Thomas Cech, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry

Thomas Cech

"In a clear, readable style, Ellen Daniell provides an understanding of how a group like hers can assist members with difficult decisions in both the workplace and personal life."—Joan A. Steitz, Yale University

Joan A. Steitz

Daniell’s sharp writing style and focus make this a pleasurable and informative read.”—Booklist

Booklist

Ellen Daniell’s book is extraordinarily interesting, articulate, timely, moving, and inspiring. It will be of absorbing interest to a great many women (and men who are interested) in any of a variety of professional settings.”—Elizabeth Blackburn, University of California, San Francisco

Elizabeth Blackburn

"In an era in which science, especially biological science, tends to be portrayed as a series of exciting, mind-boggling, disease-curing, and even ethically disturbing discoveries, this book returns attention to the human strains of being a scientist, especially a woman scientist, in an academic environment that increasingly places extraordinary demands on its denizens." —Harold Varmus, President, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Harold Varmus

"Daniell writes with great style. Fascinating reading."—Margaret Lowman, author of Life in the Treetops and It's a Jungle Out There

Margaret Lowman

“Daniell’s sharp writing style and focus make this a pleasurable and informative read.”—Booklist

Booklist