Uncharted
How Scientists Navigate Their Own Health, Research, and Experiences of Bias
by Edited by Skylar Bayer and Gabi Serrato Marks


Disability is defined by the ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] as “a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.”

In this book, readers meet several scientists who have various infirmities and how they were mostly able to overcome those disabilities to achieve their work or school objectives.

Each author has a chapter in which they share their experiences as both a scientist and as someone who is considered disabled. The chapters themselves aren’t very long, so the reader is exposed to many different situations.

If I have any criticism, it is the fact that due to multiple authorship the writing can be uneven at times and sometimes I was left with more questions than answers, though I admit that could have been on purpose.

What I most appreciated about the book is that each of the authors manages to do what they need to do, sometimes with help, sometimes without. At times, I felt inspired by what the authors were able to accomplish.

I would recommend this book to anyone who feels they don’t quite fit in or someone who is specifically interested in the subject.


4/5 stars

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion which I have given here.]

Uncharted is a really interesting mix of essays by various disabled scientists. I appreciated the insights and made me be more understanding of what it is like to work in science.

Uncharted: How Scientists Navigate Their Own Health, Research, and Experiences of Bias is an amazingly put together book that describes the experience of disabled scientists within their field of study. All of the scientists talked about different aspects of their lives and their disabilities which makes for a broad read. The writing was exceptional but did vary from scientist to scientist with some being a little slower than others although none were bad. I liked how they had content warnings at the beginning of the different scientists sections.

I think that this book would be well suited for undergraduates with disabilities who are concerned about their future. Although, this book could easily be for anyone and I think those who teach or work in science would also benefit by reading this even if they are not disabled.