Good Books: The Astronaut Wives Club

When I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut. After realizing that would require a few more math & science skills then I had, I settled for watching Apollo 13 a million times, and reading everything I could get my hands on about space. 

So I was super excited when I came across The Astronaut Wives Club in Barnes & Noble the other day. In order to write the book, Lily Koppel recently sat down and interviewed the wives of the first astronauts. Janet Armstrong, Marilyn Lovell, Annie Glenn...these women were military wives who were suddenly thrust into the limelight when JFK announced that their husbands would be going to the moon.

With technology from the 50s & 60s (as Lily Koppel points out, less technology then it takes to run her iPhone), NASA was trying to send their husbands into space. After watching many test rocket launches that blew up on the pad, these women did their best to be supportive & look happy when their husbands were strapped to the top of those rockets.

From dinners at the White House, tearful splashdowns, & trying to be the perfect 50's housewives, to dealing with death, divorce, & being hounded by the press, these women relied on each other as their men explored the final frontier.

Now excuse me while I go re-watch Apollo 13.

"If you think going to the moon is hard, try staying at home." 

- Barbara Cernan, wife of astronaut Eugene Cernan

Images via The Astronaut Wives Club