Leaving Home Helps Us To Appreciate it
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Back to Earth: What Life in Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet―And Our Mission to Protect It, Nicole Stott, 2021.
There’s a deceptively simple clarity to this book that surprised me with its power. Nicole, one of the nicest and most personable people I’ve ever met, uses her platform as a former space shuttle and space station astronaut to great effect to say something that is subtly yet surprisingly different from other works I’ve come across.
I have read many books about flying in space. I have read books about effectively living on Earth in responsible ways. I have even read – and sometimes helped to write – books that show how living in space can affect how spacefarers feel about our planet. But this book is different. This book is a two-way process.
In space, in the deepest oceans, and on dry land, Nicole has sought out connections with people whose imaginative research is benefiting all humankind. In doing so, she showcases some simple yet powerful ideas from experts – of how solutions to work with nature can be to protect it for us as well as saving it from us. Her thoughts on being “grounded” – a word she explores in all of its meanings – held a surprising revelation for me. The transcendence of flying in space can, it seems, be felt here on Earth without ever leaving the ground. The purest form of the space experience is, apparently, transactional.
Interdependence on our planet can affect how people live in space as much as the space experience can affect thoughts of Earth. This book takes ideas such as Frank White’s “Overview Effect” – the idea that seeing Earth from space could change everyone – and goes much, much deeper. Nicole shares excitement at the solutions for global change she has encountered, which are, as with most great ideas, showcased best by individuals. In doing so, she outlines a reciprocal flow of knowledge that may never have been captured in print before.
There are also moments of beauty from her own, unique space experiences. As the first person to paint watercolors in space, her description of how the watery paint interacted with the paper is mesmerizing. Her explanation of how the line between former and current astronaut work can be less abrupt if approached mindfully is very different from descriptions in other astronaut memoirs. But mostly, she’s focused on what good she can do in the world by using that most effective tool – having the word “astronaut” in her resume.
As Nicole describes a way of being, rather than a to-do list, this book seeps into you with both its elegance and its plain speaking. Its thoughts will stay with you, and perhaps gently tug at the direction of your life.