To Space and Back

Much has been written about the vast scientific importance of space exploration, but very little about the human side of being a m,ember of an astronaut crew. In this book, with the help of journalist Susan Okie, Sally Ride shares the personal experience of traveling into space.

Astronauts live, sleep, eat, and work in conditions totally unlike anything we know here on Earth. Everything they do is affected by weightlessness. The simplest of daily routines, such as preparing meals or getting dressed, is a challenge to human ingenuity. Astronauts live and work as members of a team -- each a highly trained expert in a particular field. The cheerful enthusiasm with which they adapt to the special environment of space is testimony to their total commitment to their work.

Written especially with a young audience in mind, To Space and Back answers questions frequently asked by space enthusiasts of all ages. It also reveals that the remarkable men and women who have chosen to pioneer the frontiers of space are first and foremost unique individuals -- like all of us.

Susan Okie has known Sally Ride since they were students together at Westlake School. She remembers her as a "fleet-footed fourteen-year-old with a self-confident grin" who was her academic rival. They have remained close friends, even though their lives have taken them in different directions. Susan Okie also attended Swarthmore College and later went to Radcliffe, from which she graduated with a degree in biology. She received her M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1978. She now works as a medical journalist for the Washington Post.