Lessons in Chemistry

Lessons in Chemistry was good on screen. The book is better.

Elizabeth Zott publicly and unapologetically declares herself an atheist. ("Actually, a humanist. But I have to admit, some days the human race makes me sick.") She loves dogs, works to empower the oppressed, instills confidence and curiosity in her daughter, and openly resists ignorance and venality in '50s-'60s workplaces of the sort that so many women of her generation had to endure in silence. 

Every young woman, every young person needs to learn her lessons in humanity.

Whenever you feel afraid, just remember. Courage is the root of change - and change is what we're chemically designed to do. So when you wake up tomorrow, make this pledge. No more holding yourself back. No more subscribing to others' opinions of what you can and cannot achieve. And no more allowing anyone to pigeonhole you into useless categories of sex, race, economic status, and religion. Do not allow your talents to lie dormant, ladies. Design your own future. When you go home today, ask yourself what YOU will change. And then get started.

I think [religion] lets us off the hook. I think it teaches us that nothing is really our fault; that something or someone else is pulling the strings; the ultimately, we're not to blame for the way things are; that to improve things, we should pray. But the truth is, we are very much responsible for the badness in the world. And we have the power to fix it.

Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun

Chemistry is change... that’s what we need more of—people who refuse to accept the status quo, who aren’t afraid to take on the unacceptable.

She was, in short, a meliorist of the highest order.

(There's a nice interview of the author appended to the audio edition.)