Light from Other Stars

Light from Other Stars (2019), a historical novel by Erika Swyler, centers on a young girl who dreams of becoming an astronaut when she grows up, but her scientist father, planning to extend her childhood so that she stays young for longer, accidentally disrupts the space-time continuum. Critics praise the book for its exploration of the morality of scientific advancement and the challenges young girls face growing up in a patriarchal society. Swyler, a bestselling author and essayist, enjoys writing about girls and women who break free from society’s confines to become strong, independent characters.

Light from Other Stars begins in outer space aboard a space shuttle, the Chawla. Protagonist Nedda Papas, an astronaut on the Chawla, has been in space for over two years. There’s still another three years to go before she reaches her ultimate destination, Mars. She and her crewmates are on a mission to build a base on Mars capable of supporting human life because Earth is slowly becoming uninhabitable.

Although Nedda loves being an astronaut, she’s lonely. Missing her family and friends back home, she wishes she could share her experiences in space with them. Nedda knows that, although there is no specific reason why she won’t make it back home, there is always the chance that she won’t survive the trip.



After a while, Nedda reflects on her childhood. The narrative jumps back to 1986 when Nedda is just 11 years old. She is growing up in Easter, a small town on Florida’s Space Coast, with her father, Theo, and her mother, Bethleen. She loves Bethleen, but she feels that she has more in common with Theo. He’s a NASA scientist, and she dreams of one day following in his footsteps.

When she’s not dreaming about life in space, young Nedda plays with her best friend, Denny, in a local orange grove. The landowner, Pete, collects old NASA and space launch equipment. He stores the equipment in a barn, and he’s happy for Denny and Nedda to play with it. Although Nedda loves playing with the NASA equipment, she is more focused on staring at the sky and wondering what it is like to venture beyond it.

On January 28, 1986, Nedda attends school as usual, but it is no ordinary school day. NASA plans to launch the pioneering space shuttle, the Challenger, into orbit. Nedda knows that there’s a woman on board, which gives her hope that she will be chosen for a shuttle launch one day. The launch, however, ends in disaster. The shuttle explodes, killing all seven astronauts.



Following the explosion, Theo loses his job at NASA. Heartbroken, he is determined to find new ways to practice science. Looking at Nedda, he realizes that he doesn’t want his only daughter growing up and dying on a botched space shuttle. Theo decides that there is only one option—extend her childhood so she will never be old enough to apply for astronaut admissions.

Back in the present day, Nedda reflects on her relationship with Bethleen. For many years, Nedda had no idea that Bethleen once gave up a prestigious scientific career to pursue motherhood instead. Bethleen, a gifted chemist, secretly prayed that Nedda would pursue her own scientific dreams. Nedda hates feeling that her mother sacrificed a great career for motherhood; she wishes that women weren’t so often forced to choose between one or the other.

In the past, Theo gets to work on his scientific experiment, The Crucible. The Crucible is a machine that changes the speed of time, allowing Theo to manipulate energy to rearrange it so he can visit the past and stay there. He tests out his experiment on the town of Easter, with unforeseen consequences. Easter ends up running on its own timeframe. While everywhere else on Earth moves forward, Easter is suspended in time.



In the present day, Nedda thinks back on her relationship with her father. She realizes that she idealized him, turning him into something he wasn’t. He was a good man, but he was reckless, too. He didn’t think before acting, which is ultimately how he lost his job at NASA. Nedda understands her father’s ambition, but she wishes he had not meddled with the space-time continuum.

Back in the past, Nedda remembers what happened to Theo and Denny. They both ended up trapped inside a bubble in The Crucible, with no means of escape. Nedda and Bethleen worked together to break the bubble to free the two hostages. They enlisted Pete’s help; he’s the only other person in Easter who understands the full implications of Theo’s work.

In the present day, everything goes wrong for Nedda’s crew. There’s a problem with the isotope balance aboard the Chawla, and it’s slowly blinding everyone. If the crew can’t fix the imbalance, they will go blind before they reach their destination. Nedda is left wondering what the future holds for her and the crew, but she doesn’t regret her decision to get aboard the Chawla to inspire future generations of young people.