An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield

from goodreads

3 stars

When you think of space you don't often think of Canada. Chris Hadfield sorta changed all that when last year he was commander of the international space station. He gave everyone a glimpse of what it is like in space and seemed to be able to get the whole world excited and involved in what they do at the space station. To me that is pretty cool. My favourite quote is from Hadfield, it motivates me. Remember that you need to decide who you want to be, and then start slowly turning yourself into that person, each day.

Synopsis

Chris Hadfield reflects upon his life: his dreams of becoming an astronaut, joining the CSA, his trips into space and his time on earth. He tells us what he has learned because he is an astronaut and how that can help us with our own relationships either personal or in a work environment.

My Thoughts

When the book was released I was so excited and put a hold on it right away. I thought I was going to loooove it. I love hearing him in interviews and youTube videos so, why not in book format? Well... I didn't really love the book. I liked it well enough though.

The book is divided into three sections. The first section focuses on his time on earth in preparation mode. Trying his best to become an astronaut, which is not very easy to do, especially in Canada. Then learning and training in Houston for all the things that come along with being an astronaut. The second section is about his time in space and his experiences there. The last section is about his time after his space flight.

The first section almost read like a self-help book. He would say something he learned and then was like, if you apply this to relationships you will get a good emotional result. Although what he was saying could very well be true, it was kind of weird. I wasn't really reading this for relationship help. I was reading it more to learn about his time being an astronaut, both on earth and in space.

The second and third section were more readable. It still showed how things in his astronaut life can overlap in real life but, it did not have the self-help vibe.

One thing that was a bit monotonous was his focus on preparation. Now I think preparation is important especially if you are going out to space where you need to know how to fix things and do things and there is really no one else to help you. So focusing on preparation that's great. It was interesting to learn about all the things that astronauts do to train themselves years in advance of their missions. What was not so great was how he would say, I really needed to rely on my years of training, because one wrong move and we'd be dead. Or I had to make sure I kept my focus and helped so and so or one mishap and he would be dead. We get it. One mistake and you are dead, think about what is the next thing that will happen that could kill you. Got it! Preparation is important but does it always have to be phrased in a way that shows how close you are to your ultimate demise? I just felt like I was being beat over the head with it.

So on the whole, the book wasn't too bad. The first section I had to persevere through and almost thought about putting the book aside, but the last two sections were great and interesting and what I thought it would be. He writes really well, he had some funny stories. I especially liked the one about the newspaper headline. I gave it 3 stars just because some sections were 5 star worth others were 2 star worthy. It was a real mixed bag.

Despite the mixed bag I would still recommend this book because the overall message was great. Work hard for your dreams, but if they don't come true still be happy with life. True joy comes from the small things in life, not the big momentous occasions. Stay humble and recognize the huge team effort that goes behind getting you to where you are today.