In Light-Years There's No Hurry - Marjolijn van Heemstra - 2023 -...

In Light-Years There's No Hurry - Marjolijn van Heemstra - 2023
Cosmic Perspectives on Everyday Life



By: Marjolijn van Heemstra, Jonathan Reeder - translator
Narrated by: Mounya Dahma
Length: 4 hrs and 23 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 06-20-23
Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Personal Success, Philosophy, Physics
Language: English
Publisher: Random House Audio
Format: mp3 64/48 stereo



How seeing Earth through the eyes of an astronaut brings new wonder and meaning to life on our planet.

One stifling summer night, the poet and journalist Marjolijn van Heemstra lay awake, unable to sleep—like so many of us feeling anxious and alienated, deeply exhausted yet restless. Amid the suffocating stream of daily obligations, the clamor of notifications and increasingly dismal headlines, she longed for a way to rise above the frenzy, for a renewed sense of meaning and connection. Then she learned about the overview effect—a permanent shift in consciousness many astronauts experience when beholding Earth from outside the atmosphere—and wondered: could the perspective of outer space offer the internal space she sought?

The lyrical account of van Heemstra’s yearlong quest to experience the overview effect on Earth, In Light-Years There’s No Hurry invites us to lift our gaze above eye level and discover our connections with the cosmos, our planet, and each other. We follow as van Heemstra’s cosmic awareness expands and she finds herself feeling simultaneously lighter and more grounded. Compared with the complexity of the universe, daily life on Earth begins to seem more manageable, while understanding the improbability of our collective existence gives her new patience and tenderness for her neighbors. The grand rhythms of light-years and eons become a source of restoration and relief—a comforting, necessary reminder to slow down and zoom out.

Contemplating the solace a cosmic perspective offers in our chaotic, divided world, In Light-Years There’s No Hurry is a moving meditation on what it is to be human amid the vastness of the universe.

©2023 Marjolijn van Heemstra (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

"This starstruck enquiry into the grand universe around us will leave you both humbled and awed."—Katherine May, New York Times best-selling author of Wintering and Enchantment

"A lovely, lyrical book about the search for signs of life in these perilous times. Van Heemstra gracefully illuminates the difficulties and delights of connection in our increasingly chaotic world."—Jenny Offill, author of Weather and Dept. of Speculation

"Beautifully written and deeply contemplative… In Light-Years There’s No Hurry offers a surprising connection between space science and the human spirit."—Alan Lightman, author of Probable Impossibilities and Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine

Editorial Review

When life on Earth feels impossible, ascend

I’ve had more on my plate than usual lately—juggling family obligations, managing house renovations, and even handling mishaps like my cat spilling an entire gallon of olive oil. On my toughest days, I can’t help but wonder what it’s all for—why am I here? It’s no secret, then, why I was drawn to In Light-Years There’s No Hurry, a relatable yet ethereal exploration of humanity’s place in the vastness of the universe. Poet and journalist Marjolijn van Heemstra applies the “overview effect”—a permanent shift in perspective experienced by astronauts viewing the planet Earth while in space—to remedy everyday anxiety and existential ennui. I’m looking forward to Heemstra’s lyrical philosophy taking me miles away. Beam me up. —Rachael X., Audible Editor





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