Draft:Cat Bohannon
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Cat Bohannon | |
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| Born | 1979 (age 46–47) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Columbia University University of East Anglia |
| Occupations | Researcher, author, essayist |
| Known for | Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution |
| Notable work | Eve (2023) |
Cat Bohannon (born 1979) is an American researcher and author. She holds a PhD from Columbia University in the evolution of narrative and cognition. Bohannon is best known for her 2023 debut book Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution, a New York Times bestseller that explores the role of female biology in mammalian and human evolution.== Early life and education ==
Bohannon was born in 1979 in Atlanta, Georgia. Her father was a psychology professor at Emory University, and her mother was a pianist. She skipped ahead in school, later dropped out, and played in bands. She studied poetry at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom under Andrew Motion. She earned an MFA in creative nonfiction from Columbia University and completed her PhD there in 2022, with a focus on the evolution of narrative and cognition through the Department of English and Comparative Literature.
theguardian.com
Career
[edit]Bohannon's essays and poems have appeared in publications including Scientific American, Science, The Atlantic, Mind, Lapham's Quarterly, The Georgia Review, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, and Poets Against the War. She works as a researcher and public speaker on topics including female biology, sex differences in medical research, evolution, and narrative cognition.
catbohannon.com
Her research examines intersections of biology, storytelling, and cognition, often highlighting historical male-centric biases in scientific studies (from animal models to human trials) and advocating for greater attention to sex differences in areas such as drug responses, pain management, and disease. She lives with her family in Seattle, Washington.== Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution (2023) == Bohannon's first book was published by Alfred A. Knopf (Penguin Random House) on October 3, 2023. The 624-page work reframes evolutionary history by centering female mammalian biology over approximately 200 million years, from early mammals (including a fictionalized early mammal character referred to as "Morgie," inspired by Morganucodon) to modern humans. It discusses traits such as lactation, menstruation, pregnancy, menopause, fat storage, and reproductive strategies, arguing that female bodies played a pivotal role in the success of our species.
en.wikipedia.org
The book synthesizes research from evolutionary biology, anthropology, and neuroscience while critiquing androcentric biases in traditional evolutionary narratives and medical science. It became a New York Times bestseller and received several accolades, including:Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction (2024) Shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize (2024) Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing
It was also named Foyles Non-Fiction Book of the Year, an Audible Book of the Year, and appeared on various "best of" lists. A young adult adaptation was published in 2025. A sequel, Being Alive: The New Science of Women's Health and Why It Could Save Us All, is in progress.
en.wikipedia.org
Reviews described the book as engaging and witty, blending scholarship with accessible prose, though some noted Bohannon's primary expertise is in narrative and cognition rather than field biology.
naturalwomanhood.org
Personal life
[edit]Bohannon has spoken about personal experiences including egg donation, pregnancy, and balancing the decade-long writing of Eve with completing her PhD, the COVID-19 pandemic, and raising two children.== Bibliography ==Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution (2023) Eve (young adult adaptation, 2025)
References
[edit]== External links ==Official website
Eve at Penguin Random House
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