I was interested more in the science and what is going on in the waters that are leading to global warming amongst other factors. I like how she talks a lot about the gases that are harmful to the world and everyone on it. The problem I personally have with this book is that it is based a lot on Christianity. I am not Christian and I believe that this could have been way better if it was bases solely around science. Everyone makes mistakes in life but I feel she was really hard on herself because of religion and that's not right. She accomplished a lot and should be proud of it more than she was, I appreciate the free arc copy of this book as it was interesting to read. I am a vegetarian and one of the main reasons aside from animal cruelty is the fact that the gases produced in producing meat for people cause so much pollution. Along with tearing down our forests so that they can plant more crops for the cows etc. to eat so we can eat them. So I enjoy a read that lets me learn more about the environment so we can find ways to help our planet.

'Chasing Lakes' is a biographical account of Katey Anthony's passion for studying, well...lakes...
specifically ARTIC lakes and the methane that seeps, bubbles and occasionally roars out of them.

I was intrigued seeing as I'd read several accounts of Lake Kivu and Lake Nyos in Africa. I believe those
were both CO2 eruptions but methane can be equally as deadly.

Unlike the majority of the reviews I've read on 'Chasing Lakes' I actually quite enjoyed the science portions. Seeing as how the issue has such an impact on global warming which is occurring and the issues that it will raise in our immediate future's and well as those of generations to come.

I like Mrs. Anthony's viewpoint and descriptions of her love for Siberia and the Russian populace and her Alaska home and surrounds. Her descriptions of her travels are quite interesting.

Unfortunately for me, I did not enjoy her awakening Christianity as much.
I felt she was MUCH too hard on herself. She has accomplished great things and while I agree that one shouldn't get a big head, being proud of your accomplishments at such a young age should not be seen as a sin. Being overly full of yourself and vainglorious, yes. But she didn't strike me as such a person.

I almost quit reading when she described her 'confession' to her fiancee Paul of her supposedly wild, wanton youth and the black stain it had left on her soul. Ummm, you were a teenager, in Europe, in what you felt was love... that's where Psalms 25:7 comes in. It shouldn't only apply to men! :p

I'm happy that she's found contentment and balance in her life. And I did really enjoy the book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I wrote about this on The StoryGraph and on Goodreads (with a link to twitter). I'll also post to IG stories. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4808139179

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an interesting book!

Blending memoir and science the author takes us on her journey into her field as well as her life. We follow a non-linear story of Anthony's upbringing, her experience doing field work, and her discoveries about methane in bodies of water. We get interesting diagrams, details about methane traps, and other technical information along with personal stories, conversations, and information about Anthony. She talks about being a woman in science and how her childhood shaped her.

It's an interesting read with technical insight and heart.

3.5 stars rounded down.
I really enjoyed the science and graduate school aspects of this autobiography. I am a PhD scientist and could relate to a lot of what the author discussed, though her adventures in graduate school were profoundly more exciting than mine. Her scientific research and travels are fascinating. She created atmosphere so effectively, I could imagine the lakes in Siberia. She also developed the personality of her mentor, Sergei, very well. I felt as though I had met him myself.
I was not expecting religion and Bible verses. However, this is an autobiography, and the author's personal story includes religion. The religious references were not "preachy" (in my opinion) and were easily skimmable or skippable. The author is very hard on herself about needing to be more humble, trust God's plan, follow her husband, etc. Some of that was a turn off. This woman appears to be a very successful scientist, or at least she presented her research and career that way. Then she beats herself up for being too involved in her career. I guess this is part of her personal journey, but I found it off-putting, because she could not be satisfied with what most people would consider success. She came off as a whiner. While I could relate to her educational experiences, I could not related to this. I wanted to shake her and tell her to be grateful for what she has.
Overall, I chose this book because I was interested in the author's experiences as a scientist. Her discussion of limnology did not disappoint.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Summary: There were a few good bits of science and nature writing here, but they weren’t worth the slog through a disjointed religious memoir.

I decided to read this lake science book/memoir as a break from my women in media project and I have regrets. First off, this book was very poorly served by its marketing. The title and the cover picture focus only on the science, although the subtitle does tell you its also a memoir. The blurb compares it Lab Girl. Looking back, I feel like it was reasonable that I expected this to be about a 50/50 split between science and memoir. It was not. It was, at best, 25% about scientific expeditions, with very few in-depth explanations of the science. This is far more a memoir about the author finding her faith and a husband than about science, a type of book I most certainly would not have picked up on purpose.

The description of this book does tell you the memoir bit will include a focus on spirituality and faith. What it doesn’t make clear is how much that will be the focus, with the author including extensive quotes from the Bible. The author is also depressingly hard on herself, constantly claiming she needs to be more humble and persuading herself its selfish not to give up her dreams for her husband. Her husband, on the other hand, never gets mentioned without at least two positive adjectives. It’s painful to read.

I also thought the religious part of the memoir was poorly written. The author didn’t explain why she missed her faith when she was a lapsed Christian, why she returns to Christianity, or what makes religion work for her. A lot of the religious changes in her life feel like bolts from the blue. In one case, she literally believes god speaks to her. If this was fiction, I’d criticize it for poor character development. It just isn’t clear to me how she got from faith to disbelief to faith again. It is pretty clear that she could some therapy around her uncaring father and her parent’s divorce, but she doesn’t seem to have done the work to understand how that impacts her life and get into anything deep here.

Neither the religious stories nor the science stories are told chronologically or completely. Super cool science she’s done is mentioned as having happened in the past, but we never get the full story. She receives marriage proposals from two men and this is the first time she mentions either man in the whole book. Perhaps this disjointed referencing of stories we’ve not been told was corrected in the final copy (I had an ARC), but it would have required extensive work to fix.

There are some positives here. The science and the expeditions are fascinating. I loved hearing about the author’s efforts to deal with practical problems in her research. Her nature writing is beautiful, some of the best I’ve read for actually making me be able to imagine a scene. And… that’s all I’ve got. Clearly, I didn’t find this enough to be worth wading through the rest of this book. I do think this book has an audience. Many reviewers enjoyed the memoir more than the science, so I think its mostly the marketing that should be changed to help this find the right readers.

3.5 stars.

I particularly enjoyed the memoir-focused elements of this read, and Anthony's faith journey--very interesting, engaging, and well done. Also, having long been fascinated by Russia, I loved seeing it through her eyes and in a new way (the scientific, and the natural/physical world, versus primarily through fiction and history on my part).

The scientific elements bogged me down a bit, so I ended up skimming past those for the most part.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was part memoir/biography, climatology, and part religion spirituality. I liked reading about the author's love for lakes and water. It was not too scientific where it borders on tedious language or terms. I am all about awe-inspiring scenery and breathtaking moments. I can also understand how going to the Artic and various places around the ground can make this happen, but making this too religious was a turn off.

Other than that, I thought this was well written and interesting. Recommended for the anyone wanting some insight into the visits of bodies of water and the author's experiences about her visits. I also liked the cover art.

Thanks to Netgalley, Katey Walter Anthony, and Harper One for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 5/17/22

Anthony had a transient childhood but also had experiences most people can only dream about. Her academic pursuits took her overseas, primarily to Russia, where she conducted scientific studies on lakes and methane gas. I was most interested in her travels and her relationship and marriage to a Minnesota farmer. It was interesting To read how they juggled their relationship along with kids.
Admittedly all,the science and religious stuff wasn’t my focus; I just liked reading about her personal life.

At a young age, Katey knew she needed more. Fiercely independent and constantly challenging the restraints around her, she found a way to make life her own. Leaving home and getting scholarships, she found herself as a scientist in Siberia studying permafrost and methane escaping from lakes. As an adult, she becomes a farmers wife, mother and still a scientist splitting her life between Alaska and Minnesota.

It was a great easy read. Not so scientific you're lost in the details, but enough to be fascinated and wanting to learn more. There is some religious stuff sprinkled in there, but it's the authors way of questioning her own life, not forcing the reader to question theirs.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early read of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.