An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth

“Weightlessness is like a new toy you get to unwrap every day, again and again — and it’s a great reminder, too, that you need to savor the small stuff, not just sweat it.” One of many lessons learned offered by the Canadian astronaut (yes, the one who sang a creative version of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”) and flew on both the American Shuttle and Russian Soyuz. Like other next-generation astronauts influenced by the Apollo era, Chris reveals a non-jargon view about training and spaceflight with international crews. As Commander of the International Space Station during Expedition 34/35, he writes,… show more.

This is a more contemporary book, but Hadfield has a talent for entertaining writing. By the time I finished, I felt like I’d traveled along the journey with him and believed I would enjoy having him as a friend. I like the direction he took, tying lessons learned while with NASA to things we can all use in our own lives. With the number of astronaut biographies/memoirs available, this unique approach made it stand out. He also talks about the decade between his second and third missions when he filled a variety of roles at Johnson Space Center, revealing that… show more.

I was fortunate enough to attend Chris’s book launch a few years ago while he was on tour in Canada and I was immediately taken in by his incredibly humble personality. He was far more down-to-earth than I expected and very informative. His book takes you on this amazing journey from his childhood all the way to NASA where he had to overcome a lot of challenges. It was a truly captivating read.