Statistically, your odds of becoming an astronaut are close to zero. You have to make some pretty extreme sacrifices to reach the stars, and that’s the thrust of a new novel about the first Cherokee astronaut. To the Moon and Back is Eliana Ramage’s debut novel and the September pick for Reese Witherspoon’s book club. It’s a book about ambition and astronauts, but it’s also about what it means to be Indigenous … in the past, present, and future. This week, Eliana tells Mattea about loving the story of science, writing frustrating characters and why she’s taking Cherokee identity to Mars. 

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