Cover Image: Floating in Darkness

Floating in Darkness

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Member Reviews

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this book incredibly interesting the author really kept me hooked until the end. very well written I highly recommend.

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An interesting book, telling of an interesting life.

Ron Garan has been a Fighter Pilot, an Astronaut, a Father, and a Husband, and here recounts his experience of each, his visions for the future, and his hopes for the same.

The perspective of looking down at the whole world all at once is one that most of us imagine we have, having seen pictures, having watched from the ISS live stream, having seen a hundred pictures of the earth as it looks from space, but to see it with your own eyes, to understand just how small a world we are in amongst all of the myriad wonders of the cosmos, this he has done, and it's clear to see how it's shaped his perspectives.

It's interesting to see the perspective change as he grows older, from the days as a fighter pilot, when all he lived for was the next mission, the thrill of flying, and the challenge of being the best, to finding Carmel, his wife, and the greater perspective that she clearly brought to his life, and then the challenge of becoming an astronaut, and the change in his thoughts as he looked down at the earth from on high.

It's clear that Ron is a spiritual man, with a deep and undivided love of God and all his works, and while this may put some people off reading the book, the understanding has to be present that at no point does Ron try to put his beliefs upon the reader, the just says that he believes, it's up to everyone else what they think, this is just how he thinks.

While the reading of his life was interesting, what got my attention most about this book was his revelations towards the end of it, his thoughts for the future and how he sees the human race continuing. From a man who has seen all the sides of the box, it comes as a thoughtful and clear narrative that should not be hard to follow, and yet, even as he says it, he mentions that he knows that it will be hard for many to consider it. However, like his belief in god, so is his hope for humanity.

In his own words.

You are more powerful than you can imagine, and together, we are unstoppable.

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I certainly don’t live a life of extremes and much adventure, which is why books like these are certain to appeal to those (like me) who love to read about the lives of others who have one hell of a good story to tell. And there was certainly a lot of adventure, scrapes and amazing tales here!

The book focuses on the author, Ron Garan’s life and his journey to the stars. Starting from his early days, to his extensive training, Royal Air Force and eventual road to working for NASA. And wow, it was amazing to read about this road, the bumps, the turns and the twists that were thrown and overcome to achieve a dream to become an Astronaut.

I was quite awe inspired to read everything Ron overcame, and his sheer determination and grit for working towards something that seemed barred with difficulty, uncertainty and almost impossibility. To read about him making sure he got to the place where he needed to be with odds stacked against him was utterly amazing.

Just under half of the book was military, experiences during war and work within Royal Air Force (which I have to admit, I read thinking ‘when are we getting to the space bits’ but was still immensely interesting and I can’t even imagine the turbulence, grit and strength needed for just that alone). Some bits I wavered in attention more than others but it never failed to bring me back in with rapt interest. It was enthralling.

Having an insight into such an amazing feat and the authors thoughts and experiences into his mind blowing ascent into the stars made for great reading and I really did love learning more about his time on the ISS as well as the pit stops he took to get there along the way. The training, the life experiences amassed were greatly written. I love the way the author wrote this, slightly lyrical in some parts and very easy to read.

There’s also the deep undertone of a very important message running throughout the whole of the book, and one which is the most important to our life on Earth. It was beautifully done and you can’t help but come out of this book with a new perspective, not just on our universe but on our beautiful little planet that we call home.

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