Alli Reviews “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth”

Well, here I am again in CBR. After completing a full Cannonball a few years back (on my third attempt), I signed up for CBR but didn’t really participate, although I still read a fair amount of books, I think the writing part provokes my anxiety a bit. Having said that, I am taking a PR diploma and it requires a fair amount of writing so the more practice I can get the better. Plus you all are a fairly tolerant lot, so the judgements about my writing skills should be fairly minimal.

So on to the review itself. I was fortunate to find a copy of “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth” in my building’s “take a book, leave a book” library. It was quite an exciting find as I had been wanting to read this book for a while. I am not sure if it was just a Canadian thing, but this book was heavily promoted when it first came out and I thought it looked cool but I didn’t end up reading it at the time.

I started reading this book on New Year’s Eve because that is the kind of party animal that I am. I read the first chapter or so, then I finished the rest on New Year’s day. This book is an interesting recount of his life story, a thorough account of what it took to become one of Canada’s first astronauts. Also, there is a lot of good practical advice on life interspersed as well. One of my favourite parts was how he focuses on the little victories in life. People often look to him in admiration for all the big things he has done, but he finds as much joy in the everyday challenges that we face and overcome.

“It doesn’t have to be a miracle in order for you to feel good about yourself. It’s almost, for me, it’s your personal choice each day to kind of progressively feel better and better about the little victories, and celebrate them personally. If you get a chance, celebrate them with the people around you so that you constantly feel that you’re achieving the stuff that matters to you, and you’re enjoying the ride along the way.” This quote is from a Forbes interview, but there is a similar passage in the book.

All in all, it was an excellent read, I think it will have a permanent spot on my bookshelf. Don’t worry, I will put a different book on the shelf in my lobby to replace it.