Uncharted - by Skylar Bayer & Gabriela Serrato Marks

About the Book

Uncharted is a collection of powerful first-person stories by current and former scientists with disabilities or chronic conditions who have faced both successes and challenges because of their health.

Book Synopsis

Winner, 2024 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

People with disabilities are underrepresented in STEM fields, and all too often, they face isolation and ableism in academia. Uncharted is a collection of powerful first-person stories by current and former scientists with disabilities or chronic conditions who have faced changes in their careers, including both successes and challenges, because of their health. It gives voice to common experiences that are frequently overlooked or left unspoken. These deeply personal accounts describe not only health challenges but also the joys, sorrows, humor, and wonder of science and scientists.

With a breadth of perspectives on being disabled or chronically ill, these stories highlight the intersectionality of minoritized identities with the disability community. Uncharted features essays by contributors who are d/Deaf, blind, neurodivergent, wheelchair users, have experienced traumatic brain injuries, have blood sugar disorders, have rare medical diagnoses, or have received psychiatric diagnoses, among many others. In many cases, the scientific field is not fully accessible to them, and they frankly describe struggling as well as thriving alongside their conditions.

This book serves as representation for scientists who have never felt comfortable disclosing their disability or who have never felt fully understood. The stories shared in this book seek to normalize medical conditions and disabilities in scientific culture, offering recommendations for how and why to improve access. Uncharted is vital and compelling reading for current and aspiring scientists who want to make their fields more inclusive and supportive for everyone.

Review Quotes

This book does what it actually says in the title and collects the voices of disabled and chronically ill researchers discussing their experience with a wide variety of things in their fields and elsewhere. I can't recall the last time that I ran into an anthology with people from so many different life experiences. All of them had something to offer the reader.-- "The Weightless State Between Here and There"

Highly recommended. Excellent for starting conversations about disability, bias, and ablism in STEM.-- "Choice Reviews, the American Library Association (ALA)"

Some of the most validating writing I have ever read. A sobering reminder of just how much work remains to be done in the service of a more accessible and inclusive scientific culture.--Leslie Berntsen, director of education and research, The Story Collider

Alma C. Schrage's memoir of her conference-going and research fieldwork as a young, deaf biologist [is] one of the... best pieces in the volume.-- "Inside Higher Ed"

Uncharted is full of compelling narratives that illustrate the ingenuity and resilience of disabled scientists as well as the challenges they face, demonstrating the multifacetedness of their lived experiences.--Lisette E. Torres, senior researcher, TERC

A hopeful, heart-wrenching kaleidoscope of stories. These personal essays vividly share experiences that have been ignored or silenced for too long. The contributors have given us a gift and an opportunity to think broadly and act boldly to support everyone, in all of our unique and changing needs. This expansive collection of first-person stories is a must-read for anyone who cares about scientific research and all the humans who do it.--Liz Neeley, founder and CEO, Liminal

Uncharted is a crucial and timely collection exploring the lived experiences of scientists with a broad array of disabilities and chronic conditions. Bayer and Serrato Marks, alongside many brilliant contributors, share courageous and moving stories that will challenge and shift the way readers think about disability. The book offers companionship for scientists working under what can be isolating conditions as well as recommendations for improving access in STEM fields. Uncharted is a must-read call to action for scientists and their institutions to ensure a more inclusive and just future for all.--Faith Kearns, author of Getting to the Heart of Science Communication: A Guide to Effective Engagement

About the Author

Skylar Bayer is a marine ecologist and science communicator. Currently a marine habitat resource specialist in the NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Office, she received her PhD from the University of Maine's School of Marine Sciences for research on the sex lives of scallops and is a producer for the Story Collider.

Gabi Serrato Marks is a geochemist turned writer. She received her PhD in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography and is now a partner at the scientist-focused PR firm Stellate Communications. Her work has been published in Scientific American and Audubon and on the PBS Eons YouTube Channel.