Origins

By: Annie Murphy Paul

Narrated by: Elisabeth Rodgers

Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's Summary

What makes us the way we are? Some say its the genes we inherit at conception. Others are sure it's the environment we experience in childhood. But could it be that many of our individual characteristics - our health, our intelligence, our temperaments - are influenced by the conditions we encountered before birth?

That's the claim of an exciting and provocative field known as fetal origins. Over the past 20 years, scientists have been developing a radically new understanding of our very earliest experiences and how they exert lasting effects on us from infancy well into adulthood. Their research offers a bold new view of pregnancy as a crucial staging ground for our health, ability, and well-being throughout life.

Author and journalist Annie Murphy Paul ventures into the laboratories of fetal researchers, interviews experts from around the world, and delves into the rich history of ideas about how we're shaped before birth. She discovers dramatic stories: how individuals gestated during the Nazi siege of Holland in World War II are still feeling its consequences decades later; how pregnant women who experienced the 9/11 attacks passed their trauma on to their offspring in the womb; how a lab accident led to the discovery of a common household chemical that can harm the developing fetus; how the study of a century-old flu pandemic reveals the high personal and societal costs of poor prenatal experience.

Origins also brings to light astonishing scientific findings: how a single exposure to an environmental toxin may produce damage that is passed on to multiple generations; how conditions as varied as diabetes, heart disease, and mental illness may get their start in utero; why the womb is medicine's latest target for the promotion of lifelong health, from preventing cancer to reducing obesity.

©2010 Annie Murphy Paul (P)2010 Audible, Inc

Critic Reviews

“Informative and wise…. Structuring her exploration of the subject around the nine months of her own (second) pregnancy, [Paul] provides a balanced, common-sense view of an emerging field of uncertain science.” (New York Times Book Review)

“A terrific and important new book.” (Nicholas D. Kristof)

"Annie Murphy Paul, a gifted science writer, combines impeccable science, extraordinary tenderness and lyrical prose to produce a truly revolutionary chronicle of pregnancy. In Origins, she shows that pregnancy is not a condition to be endured but the first nine months of being a mother, a time full of far-reaching choices. Origins is sweet, smart and very fresh. You'll never think about pregnancy the same way again." (Sylvia Nasar, author, A Beautiful Mind)

"For the most part, [Paul] manages the very tricky act of balancing science writer - with a fair-minded attention to the ambiguities and complexities of research - and pregnant mother - with a certain tendency to lyricism, sentimentality and a wry awareness that her perspective has shifted." (Washington Post Book World)

100 Notable Books of 2010 (The New York Times)

Fascinating book

This book is full of huge amounts of fascinating information. I enjoyed it thoroughly and would recommend it to anyone. There are two reasons why I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5. The book gets confused whether its an informative science book or if it's an expecting mother's guide at times. Also, I feel like she focused on only one side of certain issues. Of course this is a huge topic to cover and she does an amazing job touching on the highlights in the field while giving you enough information to give you an understanding of what she's talking about.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Narration a problem

Excellent, fascinating book. The author presents a balanced approach to a loaded topic. The narrator is VERY VERY VERY difficult to tolerate. She speaks very slowly and has strange annunciation. The fact that I could listen to the entire book in spite of the narration indicates just how engaging the author's material is. I recommend reading this book instead of listening.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Terrific information, terrible narration

Plenty of useful information is presented in this book, but I wish it were narrated by a professional reader. The author's voice is not the best, and she puts an emphasis on EVERY SINGLE SENTENCE. It gets annoying real fast.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

All anecdotes - no science

Well, I can't say that for sure. I'm less than halfway through. Maybe it picks up. Although I'm extremely compulsive, and I can't stand to leave a book unfinished no matter how slow it may be, I'm afraid this is one of them that I just can't finish.

Perhaps it's my fault for not looking closely enough, but I thought I would be in for an interesting book on fetal development, most likely focussing on genetic and epigenetic factors, with a little myth busting and some good advice thrown in. Instead the book at least as of month 4, is largely personal anecdotes with vague references to scientific research that just stops short of actually explaining anything.

As I said, perhaps the later parts of the book turn around. But I'm cutting my losses and moving on.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Spoiler - C section at the end...

After an extensive exposé of doctor’s disastrous attempts to out do a mother’s natural birthing rhythms, the author schedules a c section and undoes the benefits of her research...

Interesting but not actionable

Really interesting and scientifically based book that also follows the personal pregnancy of the author. I was just interested in the subject so this was perfect for me, but if you are interested in epigenetics and how to actually influence your fetus you'll need to reference some other books. Highly recommend this for anyone interested in fetal development.

Interesting read

Overall I enjoyed the information in this book. I think there is lots of good advise.