The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess: Race, Religion, and DNA [Hardcover]

Jeff Wheelwright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 16, 2012

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.

10 black-and-white illustrations

Editorial Reviews

Review

With a novelist's gift for story and insight, an artist's appreciation for the stark beauty of the Southwest, and a passion for scientific investigation, Wheelwright addresses the thorny implications of genetics and portrays a family bravely facing a tragic consequence of a long-hidden legacy.

        --Booklist

As humankind becomes more technologically sophisticated, identity becomes both more fluid and more fixed...Mr. Wheelwright tiptoes with impressive agility through the minefield; this is one of the rare books on this vexed subject that get the technical stuff right.

      --Charles C. Mann, The Wall Street Journal

From breast cancer to secret Jewish rituals, hidden links signify unlikely kinships in this meditative exploration of racial connectedness....[A] sensitive account of how a modern identity is woven from ancient physical and spiritual strands.

  --Publishers Weekly

Wheelwright is a marvelously intelligent writer with a lyrical bent that complements his scientific rigor. His compassionate account of such complex subjects is both engaging and enlightening.

       --Irene Wanner, Seattle Times

...clear-eyed journalism and his deft handling of so many different, complex strands -- the science, the history, the stories of Shonnie and her family, thorny issues of race and religion -- are Wheelwright's real achievement.

        --Barbara Spindel, BarnesandNobleReview.com

From the Back Cover

"At once an involving mystery, a tale of love and tragedy, an interreligious adventure, and a scientific quest, all set against a sere and stunning Southwestern landscape. A finely crafted, compassionate, fascinating book."

  --Melvin Konner, author of The Jewish Body and Unsettled: An Anthropology of the Jews

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; First Edition edition (January 16, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393081915
• ISBN-13: 978-0393081916
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 0.9 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #361,942 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeff Wheelwright is a freelance journalist and the former science editor of Life magazine. He is the author of Degrees of Disaster, The Irritable Heart, and The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess. He lives on the Central Coast of California. More information is at jeffwheelwright.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars If you liked Henrietta Lacks, you'll love this! February 25, 2012

By Rebecca Talbot-Bluechel

Format:Hardcover

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!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars History, religion, genetics April 19, 2012

By Ashley McConnell

Format:Hardcover

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding timely research on a fascinating topic May 10, 2012

By Alan Boehmer

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Carefully researched and brilliantly written, Wheelwright's engaging book is difficult to put down. It should be of interest to anyone concerned with the effects of genetics across multiple generations and should be required reading for everyone of Jewish ancestry.