About the Book
"An inspiring, insightful read about how to overcome insecurities, build bonds, and break barriers. There's no bigger childhood dream than becoming an astronaut, and there's no bigger adult aspiration than becoming more like Cady Coleman. This is an inside look at what it's like to be in outer space-and a guide to leading a meaningful life."
-Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Potential and Think Again
"An inspiring, insightful read about how to overcome insecurities, build bonds, and break barriers. There's no bigger childhood dream than becoming an astronaut, and there's no bigger adult aspiration than becoming more like Cady Coleman. This is an inside look at what it's like to be in outer space-and a guide to leading a meaningful life."
-Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Potential and Think Again
In 2010, Cady Coleman boarded a rocket and blasted off into space for her third NASA mission, a six-month expedition to the International Space Station where she was the only woman on her six-person crew. After years spent overcoming obstacles in competitive, high-performance environments, including grappling with her own doubts and training in a spacesuit that was too big, Coleman became a success story in a role that wasn't built with her in mind-an astronaut who is also a mother, Air Force colonel, scientist, and leader. Her determination and amazing experiences give her a unique perspective on how to set yourself up for success, in space and here on Earth.
In Sharing Space, Cady shares counterintuitive insights integral to her success, such as how to know when to adapt and when to press for change instead, how to leverage insecurities to beat expectations, and how to be the glue that holds a disparate team together, shaping it to thrive. Illustrated with stories from her life and training, Cady takes readers from meteorite hunting in Antarctica to launching a $1.6 billion telescope into space to the wonder of spending six months living and working in zero gravity. This book will inspire anyone eager to escape a box in which they have been (wrongly) placed and to develop the confidence to succeed, even when they're not an obvious "fit."
About the Author :
Cady Coleman is a former NASA astronaut, retired United States Air Force colonel, scientist, pilot, musician, and mom. A sought-after speaker on a wide range of topics, including leadership and team building, Cady is known for her advocacy for inclusion in STEM/STEAM fields. She is also a highly regarded media adviser and on-air expert for space news and exploration. Cady lives in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, with her husband, glass artist Josh Simpson. They have two adult sons and two enormous Maine coon cats, Saber and Max.
Review :
Praise for Sharing Space
Cady Coleman reveals not just the extraordinary thrill of living and working in space but shares practical and inspiring advice on how to overturn other’s expectations to succeed. By showing how she stayed positive despite the obstacles to earning her spot as an astronaut and sharing the tools she’s learned about team building and how and when to speak up for change, her story is a unique roadmap for leaders everywhere.
—Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton
Cady does a marvelous job of sharing the joys, worries and realities of spaceflight—and the complex road to get there. For anyone who has felt life’s obstacles are insurmountable, Cady’s path and ideas will help show the way.
—Chris Hadfield, New York Times bestselling author of The Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth
Cady shares extraordinary wisdom from an extraordinary life.
—Mark Manson, New York Times bestselling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
Sharing Space offers a rare glimpse into the heart of a pioneer, and is a rousing call to action, offering lessons from beyond our world to help us better navigate our own. With each page, she challenges us to look beyond the horizon of our own experiences, to question the impossible, and to redefine what it means to lead in an era of unprecedented change. This is not just a story about space exploration; it's a roadmap for navigating the frontiers of our lives and careers.
—Barbara Barrett, former United States Secretary of the Air Force
Sharing Space took me back to the essence of my own magical days in space. On the page, Coleman is inspirational, energetic, curious, compassionate, musical, intelligent, and honest—a strong role model for all people aspiring to make big choices to explore, invent or discover. A wonderful read to calm our everyday-world anxieties down here on Earth with optimism for our future.
—Eileen M. Collins, former Space Shuttle Pilot and Commander and Colonel, US Air Force, Retired
Astronaut Cady Coleman—a brave, thoughtful, funny person—has had more extraordinary experiences than most of us could in three lifetimes. In this delightfully entertaining book she tells her fascinating story, and shares the priceless wisdom she’s gained along the way.
—Dave Barry, New York Times bestselling author
Sharing Space is so much more than an astronaut’s story. It’s a gift to all of us, a study in determination as Cady defies low expectations at every turn to become 'the unexpected astronaut.' Even as she becomes a three-time space flier and the first mom to spend six months aboard the International Space Station, she navigates complex human terrain with perseverance and grace. Sharing Space glows with her hard-earned wisdom, presented with a wonderful blend of open-hearted generosity, candid self-reflection, and self-deprecating humor that left me feeling enlightened, enriched, and empowered.
—Andrew Chaikin, author of A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts
Sharing Space is a wise, personal, and inspiring story about how to live a good and purposeful life. Coleman interweaves her narrative of becoming an astronaut and working in space with lessons learned about teamwork, family, confidence in the face of setbacks, courage, and pushing mental and physical limits in service of a mission larger than yourself. Her accomplishments are impressive, but what really shines through is her humanity—especially her commitment to breaking down barriers and using her own position and perspective to expand opportunities for others to achieve their own dreams. Before I read this book, I already wanted to be an astronaut. After reading it, I want to be a better person.
—Katie Mack, author of The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking)
Sharing Space is a delightful and inspiring look into how we can all reimagine the space around us and the people who make it special. A must-read for anyone looking to make a positive impact in unexpected ways.
—Sian Proctor, SpaceX Inspiration 4 Astronaut and Artist
Cady Coleman’s descriptions of life in space brought me back to that magical place. But what I liked more about Sharing Space, and what makes it different from other astronaut memoirs, is that it’s a celebration of the people she met along the way.
—Scott Kelly, former NASA astronaut and author of Endurance: A Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery
Colonel Catherine Coleman is a born storyteller and raconteur, and this fascinating insight into her world of space exploits and beyond are both a delight and a revelation.
—Ian Anderson, vocalist and flautist for Jethro Tull
[Cady] takes us along on an incredible adventure as she overcomes enormous obstacles, both internal and external, to achieve liftoff on her career.
—Mickey Fisher, showrunner for Extant
Sharing Space brings the awe and wonder of life in space down to Earth. Cady masterfully weaves stories that not only lift the spirit but also provide key life lessons. The wisdom and perspective shared in this book can not only change the direction of readers' lives but it can shift the trajectory of our world toward a more positive and restorative future for all.
—Ron Garan, astronaut
Warm, witty, and full of beautiful sensory details about what it takes to get to space.
—Mary Robinette Kowal, author of the Lady Astronaut series.
Cady does a stellar job of capturing the human side of the astronaut experience. Through a candid first-hand accounting, she brings us into her personal journey and shares experiences that allow all of us to relate to many similarities in our own lives. Her easygoing delivery style takes the complexity of human space flight, and her tremendous accomplishments, and frames them in the voice of a good friend sharing her life, heart, and soul.
—John "Danny" Olivas, astronaut
This book is inspiring through and through. Cady Coleman has an indomitably bright spirit that shines on every page this book.
—Adam Savage, host of Mythbusters and Tested
Astronaut Cady Coleman delivers poignant stories that have universal relevance for engaging necessary skills in our lives here on earth – grit, brilliance, ingenuity, teamwork, empathy, imagination, friendship, and more. Sharing Space is warm and approachable, Cady’s grace, humor, and capability shine through, she engages as a friend sharing valuable learnings for all.
—Megan Smith, former US Chief Technology Officer
A journey to space – and a journey behind the scenes of what it’s like to dare mighty things while never losing sight of what really matters: family, friends, community and the greater good.
—David Weaver, former NASA Associate Administrator for Communications
Maybe you'll never ride on the space shuttle, spend six months living on the International Space Station, or camp on the ice in Antarctica to hunt meteorites, but Cady Coleman's generous, wise and funny book will make you believe you can take on any challenge, no matter the pressure. It's a memoir, a how-to on integrating family and career, a behind-the-scenes on the fascinating science of space travel, and it reminds us how those who don't fit the mold—or the space suit!—are often the best ones to expand the world's sense of what's possible.
—Kate Zernike, author of The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins and the Fight for Women in Science
