Untwined, A Memoir: Joan in the Snake Pit

In Untwined, a spirited woman, unheard as a child and young adult, finds her voice and tells her story of survival. Heart in hand, Joan discloses secrets in life, love and science that will make you laugh and cry. Almost fifty years ago, I tried to escape everyday life in the United States and sought foreign adventure in Germany. I found the familiar—love, heartbreak and children to care for. Travel and studies comforted me. I remained in Berlin to pursue a career in science and spent summers enjoying my children on the Greek island of Lesvos. I found a life in Germany that I could not have had elsewhere, exciting but not without problems. I struggled with a complex life as a woman, mother and scientist, torn between two cultures in Berlin, an international hub. My friends in academic science and I experienced both joy and hardships. In Untwined, our stories unfold—the harassment, dishonesty and corruption witnessed during academic mediation, the aftermaths of unrequited love, the story of a love child whose father remained a secret, the making of a successful scientist and the enduring love of a mother.