The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess: Race, Religion, and DNA PDF

Rating: Author: Jeff Wheelwright ISBN : Product Detai New from Format: PDF

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A brilliant and emotionally resonant exploration of science and family history.

A vibrant young Hispano woman, Shonnie Medina, inherits a breast-cancer mutation known as BRCA1.185delAG. It is a genetic variant characteristic of Jews. The Medinas knew they were descended from Native Americans and Spanish Catholics, but they did not know that they had Jewish ancestry as well. The mutation most likely sprang from Sephardic Jews hounded by the Spanish Inquisition. The discovery of the gene leads to a fascinating investigation of cultural history and modern genetics by Dr. Harry Ostrer and other experts on the DNA of Jewish populations.

Set in the isolated San Luis Valley of Colorado, this beautiful and harrowing book tells of the Medina family’s five-hundred-year passage from medieval Spain to the American Southwest and of their surprising conversion from Catholicism to the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the 1980s. Rejecting conventional therapies in her struggle against cancer, Shonnie Medina died in 1999. Her life embodies a story that could change the way we think about race and faith.

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• Product Details
• Table of Contents
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• File Size: 1512 KB
• Print Length: 272 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (January 9, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005LW5J62
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
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• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #399,509 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess: Race, Religion, and DNA PDF

This book caught my eye the minute I saw it in the bookstore, and it didn't disappoint. My friend laughed, and said, "of course you would pick that one", which was true, it's my kind of book. Science, history, and religion, with a good story to tie it all together.

Mr. Wheelwright has clearly done his research. The genetics information is impressive in its scope, and yet delivered in a readable way. I learned a lot about the chronology of the gene sequencing discoveries which I did not know, and confirmed many things I already did.

A lot of the information is gathered from Jewish studies, as the BRCA 185delAG gene is found almost exclusively in that gene pool, which is a fascinating side bar of conventions and controversies as well

I have a friend who was undergoing preventative oopherectomy after discovering the BRCA gene when I began the book, and recovering from the reconstruction of her preventative mastectomy when I finished it, so it was an unbelievably timely read for me. The additional information about that gene helped make sense of a lot of things for me.

But it's not just a chick book. Mr. Wheelwright takes great care to weave the story of the family affected by the BRCA gene with the history of the New Mexico territory, the migration patterns of the Hispano settlers, and the religious beliefs, ethnic blends, and customs that impacted both of these. It is an amazing fabric when seen as a whole. As a "big picture person", I very much appreciated seeing the whole.

I can't wait to recommend this book to my book club, as I believe it has so many talking points and raises so many good questions, we will be up all night!

By Rebecca Talbot-Bluechel

New Mexico's history comes alive through the framing device of one woman, whose death from breast cancer illuminates how one gene can be identified with a particular group of people, how that people's history can be forgotten, how genetic testing for a cancer gene (or more precisely, a broken cancer suppression gene) can become the subject of intense religious controversy, and how DNA can be used to trace surprising secrets. Because the book focuses on Shonnie Medina, it's being compared to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, but it's as much about history and religion and a unique part of the United States as it is about science and the tragic death of young one woman. If you're from NM, as I am, this book is a must read; if you're interested in Jewish history, in DNA mapping, or the role history and religion play in modern-day controversies about genetic testing, this is one you'll like.

By Ashley McConnell