Oriana Josseau

It is November 6, 1920, in Chilean Patagonia when Oriana Josseau is born into a lively family with two grandparents, two parents, and sixteen young aunts and uncles, most within easy reach of her robust cries. And so begins the life of an independent-minded girl from the bottom of the world who somehow manages to overcome the restrictions and biases of a conservative patriarchal society and eventually becomes a scientist.

As her family relocates to the idyllic countryside of central Chile and then to the hectic complex society of Santiago, Oriana vividly recalls her reactions to such diverse events as the birth of her brothers; the abrupt transition from wealth to near poverty; her first earthquake; the turmoil of student politics; the challenges of mountain adventures; the exploration of friendship, love and sex; and her first encounter with raw anti-female bias in a male-dominated research world. As she details her life from early childhood on, it soon becomes evident that Oriana must prevail over frequent conflicts with prejudice in order to become a strong, free woman long before the advent of the feminist movement.

Oriana describes beautifully, with humor and empathy, the idiosyncrasies, strengths, and foibles of one woman, and those around her, as she embarks on a unique coming-of-age journey in a different society and different time.