Hidden Guests

“Hidden Guests will blow your mind. A fascinating dive into the world of microchimerism that will make you question everything you thought you knew about DNA and heredity.”—Hannah Wunsch, author of The Autumn Ghost“Blending cutting-edge science with gripping human stories and beautifully crafted prose, this book explores how ‘hidden guest’ cells may influence our health, human evolution, and challenge our very notions of identity. A groundbreaking exploration of biological inheritance and human connection, it will change the way you think about where you end and others begin.”—Jim Cleaves, Chair of the Department of Chemistry, Howard University“In her don’t-miss book Hidden Guests, Lise Barnéoud explores the weird and wonderful science of microchimerism, illuminating some of the most mysterious connections between human cells. The story is deeply researched, beautifully told, and, perhaps best of all, a brilliant meditation on what it means to be a fully realized human being.”—Deborah Blum, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Poison Squad: One Chemist’s Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century“Lise Barnéoud shows us how captivating and enthralling good science writing can be. Hidden Guests has reignited my passion for reading and writing about science. I hope it compels you to grab the nearest person and animatedly share all you’ve learned, as it did for me.”—From the foreword by Olivia Campbell, New York Times bestselling author of Women in White Coats and Sisters in Science“It is most fortunate that the subject of microchimerism found Lise Barnéoud’s eloquent voice and inquisitive, discerning mind. In Hidden Guests she has captured the development of this new research field while taking the reader further to a more expansive and broader perspective on biology.”—From the afterword by J. Lee Nelson, professor of medicine (emeritus), University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

Lise Barneoud is a freelance science journalist who regularly contributes to Le Monde and Mediapart. In addition to Hidden Guests, she is the author of two books about vaccines, Immunises? and Vaccins. She won the 2008 Fondation Varenne award for science journalism in a national daily newspaper and the Trophees Signatures Sante’s 2016 Grand Prix.