Chris Hadfield on being brave enough to follow your dreams
Since retiring from his career as an astronaut, Chris Hadfield has written two bestselling books for adults — An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth and You Are Here: Around the World in 92 Minutes. For his latest book, though, Hadfield decided to write for a younger audience. The Darkest Dark is the story of nine-year-old Chris, who loves astronauts but must overcome his fear of the dark in order to follow his dreams.
Shelagh Rogers spoke to Chris Hadfield in Toronto.
On watching the moon landing in 1969
It was an opportunity to watch something happen for the first time for our species, the first time for our planet. We somehow summoned the ability to go to another body in space, to go as far as the moon and safely walk around on the surface. It was uncanny, it was impossible, and yet it was real. For me, recognizing at nine years old that impossible things happen was really seminal. It was really important in giving me the confidence to start to re-evaluate myself and my own fears and look for things that might be possible as a young Canadian kid of the future.
Why he wanted to share his experience in space with the world
It's a matter of letting people see something for real. On my first flight 21 years ago, the technology didn't exist. But now, it's possible to use technology to share the experience almost immediately. The immediacy of it is reminiscent of the impact of the first moon landing. I could see something incredible or sad or informative from space, and just hit send and a billion people could see it. There's a transient nature to it, but the ideas tend to last. What surprised me is that, since the flight, the number of people that follow along with the ideas has actually doubled. It wasn't just a moment.
On the important idea he wants young readers to understand
We start absorbing societal norms so early — what people do and what they don't do. My granddaughter was visiting us over the summer, when she was 10 or 11 months old, and it reminded me how important it is to give young kids as big a picture of possibility as we can. Don't try and make it too limited, try to let them see the magnificent opportunities that are out there. I really think that's part of my job now that I'm an ex-astronaut. But it was also a large part of the motivation for this book — to let people see how you are the result of not just your dreams, but your decisions, and the things you didn't deny yourself just because you were afraid.
Chris Hadfield's comments have been edited and condensed.