The Smallest Lights in the Universe
A Memoir
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Narrated by:
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Xe Sands
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By:
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Sara Seager
About this listen
In this "bewitching" (Anthony Doerr, The New York Times Book Review) memoir, an MIT astrophysicist must reinvent herself in the wake of tragedy and discovers the power of connection on this planet, even as she searches our galaxy for another Earth.
"Sara Seager’s exploration of outer and inner space makes for a stunningly original memoir." (Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone)
Sara Seager has always been in love with the stars: so many lights in the sky, so much possibility. Now a pioneering planetary scientist, she searches for exoplanets - especially that distant, elusive world that sustains life. But with the unexpected death of Seager’s husband, the purpose of her own life becomes hard for her to see. Suddenly, at 40, she is a widow and the single mother of two young boys. For the first time, she feels alone in the universe.
As she struggles to navigate her life after loss, Seager takes solace in the alien beauty of exoplanets and the technical challenges of exploration. At the same time, she discovers earthbound connections that feel every bit as wondrous, when strangers and loved ones alike reach out to her across the space of her grief. Among them are the Widows of Concord, a group of women offering advice on everything from home maintenance to dating, and her beloved sons, Max and Alex. Most unexpected of all, there is another kind of one-in-a-billion match, not in the stars but here at home.
Probing and invigoratingly honest, The Smallest Lights in the Universe is its own kind of light in the dark.
©2020 Sara Seager (P)2020 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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"It is the easiest thing in the world to resign yourself to what is, to curl around yourself and your circumstances. This is a book filled with hope and wonder, because falling in love after loss is a defiant act of optimism, much like searching the stars for life beyond our own little planet. You’ll leave this book feeling possibility and inevitability, comforted by the knowledge that even in the dark, we are not alone." (Nora McInerny Purmort, author of It’s Okay to Laugh)
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"I absolutely loved this book. It presents both cutting-edge science and the deeply human side of a MacArthur award-winning woman astrophysicist. While searching for other planets in the universe, she grieves for her husband who died of cancer." (Temple Grandin, author of Thinking in Pictures and The Autistic Brain)
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The best-selling author of the classic Mars trilogy and The Years of Rice and Salt returns with a riveting new trilogy of cutting-edge science, international politics, and the real-life ramifications of global warming as they are played out in our nation's capital - and in the daily lives of those at the center of the action. Hauntingly realistic, here is a novel of the near future that is inspired by scientific facts already making headlines. BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction by author Kim Stanley Robinson.
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Its all
- By steve on 01-07-09
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Half Life
- A Novel
- By: Jillian Cantor
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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The USA Today best-selling author of In Another Time reimagines the pioneering, passionate life of Marie Curie using a parallel structure to create two alternative timelines, one that mirrors her real life, one that explores the consequences for Marie and for science if she’d made a different choice.
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Exceptional!
- By Andrea M Schooley on 06-17-21
By: Jillian Cantor
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A Wild and Precious Life
- A Memoir
- By: Edie Windsor, Joshua Lyon
- Narrated by: Donna Postel, Joshua Lyon
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In this memoir, which she began before passing away in 2017 and completed by her co-writer, Edie recounts her childhood in Philadelphia, her realization that she was a lesbian, and her active social life in Greenwich Village's electrifying underground gay scene during the 1950s. Edie was also one of a select group of trailblazing women in computing, working her way up the ladder at IBM and achieving their highest technical ranking while developing software.
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🏳️🌈 Wow! 🏳️🌈
- By Natalia Zimnoch on 10-15-19
By: Edie Windsor, and others
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Chicken Soup for the Soul - Find Your Happiness
- 101 Inspirational Stories about Finding Your Purpose, Passion, and Joy
- By: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen
- Narrated by: Cynthia Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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What makes you happy? Others share how they found their passion, purpose, and joy in life in these 101 personal and exciting stories that are sure to inspire and encourage listeners to find their own happiness. Chicken Soup for the Soul: Find Your Happiness will encourage listeners to pursue their dreams, find their passion and seek joy in their life with its 101 personal and inspiring stories. This book continues Chicken Soup for the Soul’s focus on inspiration and hope, reminding us that we all can find our own happiness.
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I got even more depressed
- By Tom on 09-08-14
By: Jack Canfield, and others
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Spare
- By: Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex
- Narrated by: Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex
- Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow—and horror. As Princess Diana was laid to rest, billions wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry must be thinking and feeling—and how their lives would play out from that point on.
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Gutterball!
- By Jimmyjoejangles on 01-10-23
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The Man I Never Met
- A Memoir
- By: Adam Schefter
- Narrated by: Adam Schefter
- Length: 4 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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On September 11, 2001, Joe Maio went to work in the north tower of the World Trade Center. He never returned, leaving behind a wife, Sharri, and 15-month old son, Devon. Five years later, Sharri remarried, and Devon welcomed a new dad into his life. For thousands, the whole country really, 9/11 is a day of grief. For Adam and Sharri Maio Schefter and their family it’s not just a day of grief, but also hope. This is a story of 9/11, but it’s also the story of 9/12 and all the days after. Life moved on. Pieces were picked up. New dreams were dreamed. The Schefters are the embodiment of that.
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Remembering a fallen father thru a family
- By Bob H on 09-07-18
By: Adam Schefter
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Heartwood
- The Art of Living with the End in Mind
- By: Barbara Becker
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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When her earliest childhood friend is diagnosed with a terminal illness, Becker sets off on a quest to immerse herself in what it means to be mortal. Can we live our lives more fully knowing some day we will die? With a keen eye toward that which makes life worth living, interfaith minister, mom, and perpetual seeker Barbara Becker recounts stories where life and death intersect in unexpected ways.
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The author’s compassion
- By Amazon Customer on 04-16-24
By: Barbara Becker
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The Mathematician's Shiva
- By: Stuart Rojstaczer
- Narrated by: Angela Brazil, Stephen R. Thorne
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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When the greatest female mathematician in history passes away, her son, Alexander "Sasha" Karnokovitch, just wants to mourn his mother in peace. But rumor has it the notoriously eccentric Polish émigré has solved one of the most difficult problems in all of mathematics and has spitefully taken the solution to her grave. A ragtag group of mathematicians from around the world descends upon Rachela's shiva, determined to find the proof or solve it for themselves - even if it means prying up the floorboards for notes.
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Great read
- By Lee Crowe on 07-27-15
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Not Fade Away
- A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found
- By: Rebecca Alexander, Sascha Alper
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Thirty-four-year-old Rebecca Alexander is a psychotherapist, a spin instructor, a volunteer, and an athlete. She is also almost completely blind, with significantly deteriorated hearing. Not Fade Away is a deeply moving exploration of the obstacles we all face-physical, psychological, and philosophical. Rebecca's story is an exquisite reminder to live each day to its fullest.
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Loved this!
- By Daryl on 11-24-14
By: Rebecca Alexander, and others
What listeners say about The Smallest Lights in the Universe
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-17-22
A bucket of tears and snot, plus a few good bits
It was my fault that I had failed to figure out before getting the book (and Audible narration) that this was a highly intimate memoir, not a popular science book I expected.
Before listening far enough into the the first chapter I gave my bright daughter a paper copy to encourage her interest in astronomy. "Look, Sara, here's your namesake, a prominent exoplanetary astronomer, discussing her research". And a few days later she came back to me in bewilderment, "this is not about astronomy, this is only about Sara Seager and her tantrums". Oops.
A shockingly shameless memoir of a highly accomplished, extremely intelligent and articulate window of Concord, MA. This is how the book should be advertised. I've suffered through the book I had no intention of reading, and by the end felt quite tired and "morally bedraggled" by the author's incessant lamentation.
One nice tidbit that in a way justified reading the whole book was the passage about the "Star Shade". I had been completely unaware of this project, and it's surprising that this "chantry book" revealed this gem of an idea. Of course, prof Seager makes no attempt to explain to the unworthy lay audience why a flower pattern helps better block bright starlight (diffraction pattern results in a near perfect wave cancelation for the right wavelength) beyond saying "math says so" or "of course it should be a flower". Plus the whole Star Shade narrative is used to put down a colleague. Nevertheless, I've learned something I didn't expect to learn thanks to prof Seager. Still 5 stars from me.
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- Rebecca Rowland Hines
- 01-11-21
Beautiful memoir, beautifully delivered
Loved it. the narrator makes the science accessible, as well as the beauty of life
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1 person found this helpful
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- Juuso Myllyrinne
- 10-12-20
Wonderful story about sadness and the stars
I’ve been a huge fan of Dr. Seager’s work for years, but this deeply personal story really made me appreciate her even more. It’s a candid story of a long dark march from despair to at least relative happiness. So grateful that i bumped into this book.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Hunter Beltz
- 10-05-20
Amazing story
Such a sad book that gives so much hope and attention to how much life Truly means. I never cry and I was holding back tears in a bus station at some parts.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Jeff Shaddock
- 10-12-20
A wonderful life in the sciences
This is a wonderful listen for so many reasons: the narration matches the feelings the author wants to convey perfectly; the blend between the author's life and her life in the sciences is perfect. I teared up several times as the story pulled me in and along for a wonderful ride that starts with the author's self-reflection and led to a lot of my own. You won't be disappointed if this is your next listen.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Madison Knight
- 05-31-23
Great for Anyone Interested in People or the Stars
I only happened upon this book because it was listed on Amazon Deals. Sometimes I wonder whether the books listed under deals are discounted because they don't get enough attention on their own merits, but I think this book deserves to be a best seller. It combined two things I love, biographies and science. Just covering the research of her career or her personal story would have been worthy of a book, but the combination of the two made this one of the best books I have listened to.
The role she has played in finding exoplanets is quite impressive. It's hard to believe that a single person has played such a significant role in so many aspects of something that is quite important to me, the search for another earth. Time after time, she had the knack for thinking of the solution to a problem and the courage to carry it out despite a lot of naysaying. It was quite inspiring.
Her personal story was also very moving. It made me tear up quite a few times. She did such a good job of explaining the depth and breadth of her emotions throughout all the ups and downs of her eventful life. Her tale of perseverance through all her hardships offered a lot of valuable lessons, and I think could offer hope for anyone in a similar situation.
I would highly recommend this book. I'm really glad she wrote it, and I hope she continues to have great success in her personal and public life.
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- Lynne
- 06-29-24
Honest and sensitive
Good storytelling, honest emotions, very interesting life, and closure with hope and joy. Great read.
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- kathryn a baker
- 06-10-24
The most beautiful memoir ever
I loved the prose of the author and her stunning insight into herself and her life journey
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- 𓀂𓀅𓀆𓀇
- 08-19-20
Wonderfully candid, radically hopeful
This beautifully crafted astronomical allegory was one of the most relatable memoirs I’ve ever read. Not only was it an objectively fascinating story, it also made me feel all of my feelings.
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6 people found this helpful
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- J. S. Harbour
- 10-27-20
A gripping read for science fans
This autobiography by Sara Seager was gripping and fascinating. I've followed the progress of her field and devices like Kepler over the years and was pleased to learn so much about the field from Sara's life story. She endured much hardship and pain but persevered and made great accomplishments in science.
I did not like the narrator. Her breathless almost-crying performance was an irritating and incorrect portrayal of the author.
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2 people found this helpful