Tuesday 29 October 2013

An Interview and Book Signing With Chris Hadfield

Tonight I had nothing planned and was looking forward to a relaxing night.

Then I came across a post on Blog TO that said that Chris Hadfield, Canadian Astronaut, the first Canadian to walk in space and Commander of the International Space Station, was going to be at Indigo's at Bay and Bloor for the release of his new book, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth.

As Commander of the International Space Station, Chris Hadfield captivated the world with stunning photos and commentary from space. Now, in his first book, Chris offers readers extraordinary stories from his life as an astronaut, and shows how to make the impossible a reality. 

Fulfilling this lifelong dream required intense focus, natural ability and a singular commitment to "thinking like an astronaut." In An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, Chris gives us a rare insider's perspective on just what that kind of thinking involves, and how earthbound humans can use it to achieve success and happiness in their lives. 

Along the way, he shares exhilarating experiences, and challenges, from his 144 days on the ISS, and provides an unforgettable answer to his most-asked question: What's it really like in outer space? Written with humour, humility and a profound optimism for the future of space exploration, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth offers readers not just the inspiring story of one man's journey to the ISS, but the opportunity to step into his space-boots and think like an astronaut-and renew their commitment to pursuing their own dreams, big or small.

I grew up in the space age when humans were first blasting themselves into space. Every boy wanted to be an astronaut. Hadfield made that dream come true and now I was going to hear him speak and for a few seconds meet him. I felt like I was ten years old again!

The talk was supposed to start at 7pm and I was there at 5:45pm to get a seat or a good spot to watch. Instead the store was already jammed with lines snaking through the store.

 

How many people? Well there were seats for 90 people then they started giving out group numbers, with each group having 20 people in it. I was in group 15, so already that's 290 people and many more behind me.

With an astronaut's precision, Heather Reisman and Chris Hadfield came out right at 7pm.


They were up on the stage for an hour. Hadfield was so charismatic, funny and insightful. I enjoyed every second of the conversation. In December, he is going to be giving a talk again at the Toronto Reference Library. I hope to be there. He is very inspiring to listen to!

Then came the book signing. It was very orderly and moved faster than I expected and had my book signed and was out of there by 8:45pm. Hadfield made sure he spoke to everyone who came up and shake their hand. I spoke to him for maybe ten, fifteen seconds and was very impressed at how charming he was.

It was such a thrill!

 
 

And here it is!


It was a great night! I can hardly wait to start reading!

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