Before History…

Jera lives high in the Zagros Mountains with her family. Her family is a little stranger than most: it includes a snow leopard named Fahd, who was born alongside Jera one snowy winter night.

This year, Jera is finally old enough to join the hunters of her clan as they leave to travel to the distant grasslands in search of food. She can’t wait to wander far and wide – and bring down prey of her own, like she’s seen Fahd do so many times.

But when Jera’s hunt doesn’t go according to plan, she has a mysterious encounter that will change her life – and her clan – forever. 

This is a Genetic Eve story – a story of what life might have been like for the first girl to be born with a new mitochondrial DNA mutation. 

Jera’s special mutation – the J haplotype – allows her to breathe thin mountain air and stay warm in the cold better than her ancestors. These mutations help her to travel far and wide, and learn the secrets of her mountain home.

In time, her descendants will share Jera’s adventurous spirit. They will travel around the world, leaving descendants who carry the J mutation wherever they go.

Follow Genetic Eve’s book releases to learn more about other mitochondrial mutators, like Havva and Lulit, who help their families to survive the changes the Ice Age brings to the world around them.

Learn more at Genetic Eve.com