Skulls in the Stars

Book 22 of 26 books for 2024! I made my secondary goal for the year, considering I fell short of my original goal. However, for 2025, I think I’ll aim for 30 books, to push myself…

One thing I love about social media is learning about the lives and work of researchers in different fields and with different life experiences from my own. One person whose career I’ve followed with interest for years is Jess Phoenix, volcanologist and advocate for science and representation in science. Somehow I missed that her memoir Ms. Adventure was published in 2021, and once I found out I immediately snapped it up.

Ms. Adventure explores the development of Phoenix’s career through the lens of major research expeditions that she has participated in, starting with an undergraduate trip to Death Valley and ending with a 2015 documentary trip to a violently active volcano in Ecuador. Along the way, we learn about the challenges and dangers of geological fieldwork and learn a lot about geology as well, as Phoenix explains the research that was being done and the science behind it.

The book carries its share of drama, as well! Fieldwork can be quite dangerous and Phoenix shares all of her, well, misadventures and injuries and mistakes along the way. She even talks about her early struggles with college as a history major and how she nearly dropped out entirely. I found this refreshing because very few people seem to realize how many successful scientists had some sort of existential career struggle at some point in their career. For me, I like to point out that I nearly failed algebra in junior high school, and at that time there was no evidence that I would eventually become a theoretical physicist!

The dangers of fieldwork are not only associated with natural phenomena. Phoenix talks about how her expeditions have had run-ins with horse thieves and drug cartels, and it is a fascinating reminder that even in the wildest parts of nature the human element has to be weighed as part of the risks.

The penultimate chapter, describing Phoenix’s participation in a Discovery Channel documentary about volcano research, is quite eye-opening as to how such shows are made, often without any significant regard for the actual research being done. She talks quite openly about how she and the other cast members were pressured into participating in staged drama and how they had to fight back and negotiate in order to make the resulting program actually a fair and educational representation of the work they do. (It is also good information for me in case I am ever asked to participate in anything of the sort, though I doubt I will!)

Overall, Ms. Adventure is a fascinating memoir of the life of a fascinating and outstanding researcher, and it is worth reading to learn more about science and the often difficult ways it has to be done. It is also a great book to share with any young women in your life who are contemplating whether or not they can or should get involved in science!