BookTalk: Atmosphere

Atmosphere follows Joan Goodwin, a physics professor and astronomer who dreams of more than academia. In the early 1980s, when NASA begins recruiting women scientists for the Space Shuttle program, she applies—and gets selected. As Joan trains with her cohort, including the brilliant and magnetic Vanessa Ford, she faces sexism, personal sacrifice, family obligations (especially toward her niece Frances), and the weight of expectations in a male‑dominated field. She also gradually comes to recognize and pursue a love she’s kept hidden.

All of this builds toward a tense moment in December 1984: during mission STS‑LR9, something goes catastrophically wrong in orbit, and Joan—working as CAPCOM in Mission Control—must support her crewmates and manage both professional duties and emotional turmoil. The novel explores what it means to reach for the stars (literally and metaphorically)—and what we risk, what we gain, and who we become in the process.