Origins of the Universe and What It All Means: A Memoir

In her debut memoir, Carole Firstman traces her strained relationship with her eccentric and distant father, a gifted biology professor whose research on scorpions may have contributed to the evolutionary theories of Stephen Jay Gould. Through unexpected forms—from footnotes and diagrams to startling love letters and Saturday morning cartoons—Firstman struggles to reconnect with her estranged father and redefine herself as both a grown woman and a daughter.

Part travel narrative, part cultural commentary, this genre-bending memoir contemplates the nature of parent-child relationships, the evolution of life on Earth, and origins both physical and metaphysical. Excerpts from this work have appeared as Notable Essays in several Best American Essays collections.