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Welcome to the May 2025 chapter newsletter.
Welcome to the May 2025 chapter newsletter.
CHAPTER NEWS
CHAPTER NEWS
Don’t Forget the Next Book Club Meeting!
Membership Committee Chair Vacancy
Call for Submissions
Join our AMWA North Central LinkedIn Community
FEATURE ARTICLES
FEATURE ARTICLES
Book Club Notes: Lessons in Chemistry
JOB BOARD
JOB BOARD
Announcements
CHAPTER NEWS
CHAPTER NEWS
Don't Forget the Next Book Club Meeting!
Don't Forget the Next Book Club Meeting!
Our next book club will be held on September 29, 2025. We will discuss Bottle of Lies: The Dark Side of the Generic Drug Boom by Katherine Eban. This is a change from our original announced selection by Austin Chang, MD, partly because of availability. The topic should provoke some discussion given the current state of medicine, availability of therapies, and offshoring of drug production. Please watch the newsletter for details about the meeting, and do join us!
Membership Committee Chair Vacancy
Membership Committee Chair Vacancy
The AMWA North Central Chapter is looking for a volunteer to fill the Membership Committee Chair position. The Membership Chair’s role is to update the membership list monthly to ensure the active members are on the email list and that expired memberships have been removed. If you would like to join us or have any questions regarding open roles, please reach out to bod@amwanorthcentral.org.
Call for Submissions
Call for Submissions
To all Chapter members, we welcome your upcoming contributions. If you are interested in writing for the newsletter, please contact Dora Miedaner (dora.miedaner@gmail.com). Submissions are due at the beginning of the last week of each month and may require a round of editorial revision before being published.
FEATURE ARTICLES
FEATURE ARTICLES
Book Club Notes: Lessons in Chemistry
Book Club Notes: Lessons in Chemistry
By Paul W. Mamula, PhD
The North Central Chapter Book club met virtually April 28, 2025, to discuss Lessons in
Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. The book was a bestseller—more than 8 million copies have
sold.
Figure 1. Book cover of Lessons in Chemistry
The Book
The Book
Lessons in Chemistry (Figure 1) is a relatively long but well-paced novel. The story is set in the 1950s through the early 1960s and follows Elizabeth Zott, a chemist and single mother,
in her quest for a meaningful career. The quirky story interweaves themes of the role of women in society, jobs, discrimination in science, double standards for gendered behavior, child rearing, and education.
When her lover and fellow chemist, Calvin Evans, is killed in a freak accident, her boss fires Zott, so she seeks other work to support her young daughter. Rowing plays a prominent role
in the story, as does Zott’s pet dog, Six Thirty, and her precocious daughter’s school experiences. Six Thirty’s insights into human behavior lighten some of the novel’s darker
moments.
After Zott meets with a television producer to resolve a school conflict between his daughter and hers, he offers Zott the job of hosting an afternoon television cooking show, “Supper at
Six.” Zott goes off script, using the show to explain the chemistry of the dishes, but she also gives provocative advice for housewives, much to the dismay of the show’s sponsors. Her tagline ending, “Children, set the table. Your mother needs a moment to herself,” and her intelligent advice make the show a hit.
The book has its funny moments, but much of the humor is dark and provocative rather than comedic. Questions about Zott and Evans’ family histories, a big part of the tale, get untangled in the last third of the story.
A Deluxe Edition was published on April 23, 2024, and included the good-to-read added content: “Six Thirty and the Moms” and a short “interview” with Zott. I read this edition and liked it as well as the embossed cover featuring elements from the Periodic Table (Figure 2).
Those who prefer the audiovisual to print can watch the 8-part miniseries that appeared on Apple TV+ in 2023.
Job Board
Job Board
Announcements
Announcements
Dr. Kaeli Welsh, with a PhD in Pharmacology, recently joined the AMWA North Central Chapter and is looking to enter the medical writing field. Please reach out to Dr. Welsh at: kaeli.ann.welsh@gmail.com
Are you looking for work? You know someone who’s hiring? Please reach out! The job board will be updated in every issue of the monthly newsletter. If you’d like to add your name to this list, please contact Dora Miedaner (dora.miedaner@gmail.com).
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