Blog Assignment #6- Narrative.ly Literary Profile

Response to "The Simple Science of Mary Roach" by Kyria Abrahams

(www.narrative.ly)

“I wasn't academically worked up about science, but I still spent all my time outdoors in the natural world. I remember watching frog’s eggs turn into tadpoles and picking them up.”

This profile of a book writer and journalist writes about science – Mary Roach. She is naturalist, explorer, observer and a person who still has the childlike curiosity for the world. Roach's love of writing started in grade school then she started to write graphic novels. Her love for nature and experiments started even before that, in her early childhood when she played with her neighbors .As she simply puts her childhood memories and resonates with many children and adults, she makes others wonder if something as simple as enjoying nature can lead to a world of science.

It is as if Mary Roach never grew up – she was not interested in science as many scientists would – however, she writes about science without any advanced degree in it. She admits her imperfections in a same honest way as she talks about her childhood. She says, “When I am talking to scientists, I sometimes experience a certain amount of anxiety about being able to get it right. Sometimes, I think that I've understood something and I actually have some element of it wrong.” She does not feel the need for perfection. Instead, she follows her inquisitive nature.

“We would ride bikes outside during that time of dusk when it was just a little bit dark. There was just always something new.” Roach while showing the sides of a tomboy, also reminds to the readers the times when inquisitiveness was a driving source of life – for her, it still is.