Formulary Book Club: Pandora’s Jar
Third-year PharmD student, Mennah Alkaissi, has our May ’24 book recommendation
Story by Ryan McDaniel | Published May 21, 2024
The Formulary Book Club series introduces a student, staff, faculty, or alumni of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and gets their recommendation for a great read.
This recommendation comes to us from Mennah Alkaissi, a rising third-year PharmD student. Mennah’s Formulary Book Club recommendation is Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes.
This book examines and analyzes familiar Greek mythology, but with a twist; the female characters of the stories, typically sidelined in telling, are brought to the center of the tales. There, they are more fully fleshed out as human beings rather than simply as villains, plot devices, or secondary-characters. Haynes considers characters such as Helen of Troy, Medea, and Medusa, tracing their origins and taking an unflinching look at their extraordinary circumstances.
“Most enjoyable was the story of Jocasta [Oedipus’ mother-turned-wife] and how her perspective has been twisted for centuries,” says Mennah. “Instead of retelling her story through the lens of her son’s prophecy, it’s told in Jocasta’s horrific realization. Not only does her story show the pureness of her intentions, it illuminates her compassionate heart for her children and the depths of her grief.”
This book is precisely the kind of work Mennah likes to read; she is a fan of mythology, fantasy, and historical fiction. Mennah is a third-year PharmD student. In her time at the School, she has taken on an array of leadership positions in student organizations such as Student Pharmacists Opioid Misuse Prevention (StOMP) Task Force, Carolina Association of Pharmacy Students (CAPS), Industry Pharmacists Organization (IPhO), and Student Senate DEI. “I’ve recognized my privileged position in this school and in this life, and I attempt to use my voice for those who cannot,” Mennah says. “For those whose voices are silenced will be the voices of our future, who tell their stories, who mold our conscience, and highlight our histories.”
Thank you, Mennah, for your book recommendation!