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One of those books that the tagline is super interesting — a memoir from an adult who participated as a child in the Block Study. Though this is a thread that runs through the book, the author has few memories of participating and has little access to files, so there‘s not much to go on. What we end up with is a memoir about a detached mother and horrible marriage. I didn‘t hate it, but it certainly doesn‘t deliver on its promise.

Towards the end of the book, Breslin explains that while she originally planned to write a work of investigative journalism about longitudinal studies and their impact on the study subjects, her publisher requested she make this book a memoir. This likely accounts for why the book consistently feels like neither one thing nor the other. It's interesting, but I think it would have been better if Breslin had been able to write it how she wanted to.

The first memoir of 2024

Susannah Breslin‘s memoir about her life as an emerging writer, and reflections on being part of UC Berkely‘s Block Study.

Musings ✨ Aimless ✨ Eugenics

A memoir that is more about writers‘ block than the Block Study.

In this memoir, the author relates the tumultuous ups and downs of her life in the context of her participation in a longitudinal study of childhood behavior. I think this book would have appealed to me more if it had been more narrative non-fiction and less memoir. In the end, the author says she didn't want to write a memoir, but her publisher said to. This may explain why the book feels so uneven, trying to shock without really informing.

Susannah Breslin‘s parents enrolled her in a longitudinal child development study as an infant, and she participated in the Block Project for the next 32 years. It could and should have been an interesting story, but Breslin‘s publisher wanted a her to write a memoir instead of an investigative expose. It‘s a shame because Breslin‘s instincts are journalistic; she‘s written and edited several vice columns. The result is a sad mess of a sad story.