The Smallest Lights in the Universe
A Memoir
(Sprache: Englisch)
LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE WINNER An MIT astrophysicist reinvents herself in the wake of tragedy and discovers the power of connection on this planet, even as she searches our galaxy for another Earth, in this ...
lieferbar
versandkostenfrei
Buch (Kartoniert)
14.50 €
Produktdetails
Produktinformationen zu „The Smallest Lights in the Universe “
Klappentext zu „The Smallest Lights in the Universe “
LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE WINNER An MIT astrophysicist reinvents herself in the wake of tragedy and discovers the power of connection on this planet, even as she searches our galaxy for another Earth, in this bewitching (Anthony Doerr, The New York Times Book Review) memoir.Sara Seager s exploration of outer and inner space makes for a stunningly original memoir. Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone
Sara Seager has always been in love with the stars: so many lights in the sky, so much possibility. Now a pioneering planetary scientist, she searches for exoplanets especially that distant, elusive world that sustains life. But with the unexpected death of Seager s husband, the purpose of her own life becomes hard for her to see. Suddenly, at forty, she is a widow and the single mother of two young boys. For the first time, she feels alone in the universe.
As she struggles to navigate her life after loss, Seager takes solace in the alien beauty of exoplanets and the technical challenges of exploration. At the same time, she discovers earthbound connections that feel every bit as wondrous, when strangers and loved ones alike reach out to her across the space of her grief. Among them are the Widows of Concord, a group of women offering advice on everything from home maintenance to dating, and her beloved sons, Max and Alex. Most unexpected of all, there is another kind of one-in-a-billion match, not in the stars but here at home.
Probing and invigoratingly honest, The Smallest Lights in the Universe is its own kind of light in the dark.
Lese-Probe zu „The Smallest Lights in the Universe “
CHAPTER 1A Stargazer Is Born
I was ten years old when I first really saw the stars. I was mostly a city kid, so I didn t often experience true darkness. The streets of Toronto were my universe. My parents had split up when I was very young, and my brother, sister, and I spent a lot of time on our own, riding subways, exploring alleys. Sometimes we had babysitters barely older than we were. One of them, a boy named Tom, asked my father to take all of us camping.
Camping wasn t my father s idea of a good time. Canadians escape to cottage country as often as they can, snaking out of the city in great lines of weekend traffic, aiming for some sacred slice of lake and trees. Dr. David Seager was British, and he often wore a tie on weekends; for him, sleeping in the woods was something that animals did.
But Tom must have made a pretty good case, because the next thing I knew, we were on our way north. We went to a provincial park called Bon Echo, carved out of a small pocket of Ontario, three or four hours from Toronto. Bon Echo includes a string of beautiful lakes, almost black against the green of the trees. There are white beaches and pink granite cliffs perfect for jumping off into the cool water, after climbing as high as you dare and thick red beds of pine needles on the forest floor. Bon Echo was the prettiest place I d ever been.
Maybe it was the absence of city sounds that made it hard for me to sleep. I was in a tent with my siblings. We had set up a little suitcase between us like a nightstand. (As usual, we had been left to our own devices, this time to pack. We had no idea that campers generally don t bring suitcases.) My brother and sister were making the soft noises that sleeping children make.
Jeremy was the oldest and tall for his age. He had only a year on me, but it was a crucial year, and he usually ended up in charge, dictating our daily activities from his great height. Julia was the youngest, beautiful and
... mehr
boisterous with a perpetual light in her eyes. She was everybody s favorite. I occupied the middle in every sense, small and silent. I was the dark one. Jeremy and Julia have blond hair and blue eyes; I have brown hair and hazel eyes. My eyes were also the only ones open that night.
I unzipped the tent s flap and ducked out into the dark. I wandered just far enough away to clear the last of the trees.
That s when I looked up.
My heart stopped.
All these years later, I can still remember that feeling in my chest. It was a moonless night, and there were so many stars hundreds, perhaps thousands over my head. I wondered how such beauty could exist, and I wondered, too, why nobody had ever told me about it. I must have been the first person to see the night sky. I must have been the first person in human history who had braved her way outside and looked up. Otherwise the stars would have been something that people talked about, something that children were shown as soon as we could open our eyes. I stood and stared for what felt like hours but was probably seconds, a little girl who understood how to navigate the chaos of a big city and a broken home, but who now had been given her first glimpse of real mystery.
I was overwhelmed by what felt like too much light, too much knowledge to take in all at once. I ran back to the tent, curled up beside my sleeping sister, and tried to be just ten years old again, listening to the sweet sound of her breathing.
My father lived outside Toronto, in a series of neat and orderly apartments and bungalows. My mother lived in a former rooming house, in what was a battered part of town called the South Annex, with my stepfather, piles of old newspapers, and an army of cats named after literary characters. She was a writer, a poet.
I never became close with
I unzipped the tent s flap and ducked out into the dark. I wandered just far enough away to clear the last of the trees.
That s when I looked up.
My heart stopped.
All these years later, I can still remember that feeling in my chest. It was a moonless night, and there were so many stars hundreds, perhaps thousands over my head. I wondered how such beauty could exist, and I wondered, too, why nobody had ever told me about it. I must have been the first person to see the night sky. I must have been the first person in human history who had braved her way outside and looked up. Otherwise the stars would have been something that people talked about, something that children were shown as soon as we could open our eyes. I stood and stared for what felt like hours but was probably seconds, a little girl who understood how to navigate the chaos of a big city and a broken home, but who now had been given her first glimpse of real mystery.
I was overwhelmed by what felt like too much light, too much knowledge to take in all at once. I ran back to the tent, curled up beside my sleeping sister, and tried to be just ten years old again, listening to the sweet sound of her breathing.
My father lived outside Toronto, in a series of neat and orderly apartments and bungalows. My mother lived in a former rooming house, in what was a battered part of town called the South Annex, with my stepfather, piles of old newspapers, and an army of cats named after literary characters. She was a writer, a poet.
I never became close with
... weniger
Autoren-Porträt von Sara Seager
Sara Seager is an astrophysicist and a professor of physics and planetary science at MIT. Her research, which earned her a MacArthur Foundation Genius grant, has introduced many foundational ideas to the field of exoplanets, and she led NASA s Probe-class study team for the Starshade project. She is now at the forefront of the search for the first Earth-like exoplanets and signs of life on them. She lives with her family in Concord, Massachusetts.
Bibliographische Angaben
- Autor: Sara Seager
- 2021, 336 Seiten, Maße: 13 x 19,9 cm, Kartoniert (TB), Englisch
- Verlag: Crown
- ISBN-10: 0525576266
- ISBN-13: 9780525576266
- Erscheinungsdatum: 02.09.2021
Sprache:
Englisch
Pressezitat
It is the easiest thing in the world to resign yourself to what is, to curl around yourself and your circumstances. This is a book filled with hope and wonder, because falling in love after loss is a defiant act of optimism, much like searching the stars for life beyond our own little planet. You ll leave this book feeling possibility and inevitability, comforted by the knowledge that even in the dark, we are not alone. Nora McInerny Purmort, author of It s Okay to Laugh Sara Seager s exploration of outer and inner space makes for a stunningly original memoir. Far from being dwarfed by the scale of exoplanets and galaxies, her most human tale of love, loss, and redemption is illuminated and given meaning by this backdrop. . . . A beautiful and compelling read. Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone
I absolutely loved this book. It presents both cutting-edge science and the deeply human side of a MacArthur award winning woman astrophysicist. While searching for other planets in the universe, she grieves for her husband who died of cancer. Temple Grandin, author of Thinking in Pictures and The Autistic Brain
The miracle of this breathtaking book is the way Sara Seager s search for life in the universe mirrors her search for a fitting life here on earth. Who knew that so much love and beauty and hope could come from so much confusion and fear and grief? Who knew that the macrocosm and the microcosm could end up being the very same thing? Margaret Renkl, author of Late Migrations
Seager s beautifully written memoir strikes the perfect balance, weaving a richly told personal story with a clear and accessible tale of the birth and development of a new kind of astronomy the search for other worlds like our own.
... mehr
Katie Mack, author of The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking)
A singular scientist has written a singular account of her life and work. Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
This thoughtful and affecting memoir of navigating life after loss reads like a comforting novel, inspiring others to follow their dreams and never give up on the possibilities of discovery and self-reflection. Library Journal (starred review)
This wondrous tale of discovery, loss, and love is both expansive and intimate. Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A singular scientist has written a singular account of her life and work. Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
This thoughtful and affecting memoir of navigating life after loss reads like a comforting novel, inspiring others to follow their dreams and never give up on the possibilities of discovery and self-reflection. Library Journal (starred review)
This wondrous tale of discovery, loss, and love is both expansive and intimate. Publishers Weekly (starred review)
... weniger
Kommentar zu "The Smallest Lights in the Universe"
0 Gebrauchte Artikel zu „The Smallest Lights in the Universe“
Zustand | Preis | Porto | Zahlung | Verkäufer | Rating |
---|
Schreiben Sie einen Kommentar zu "The Smallest Lights in the Universe".
Kommentar verfassen