To Rose Reid and Sally Hanes, thank you for everything you do for Alex, Lilah, and me. You so often make it so that I have the time I need to write. And you have listened so much these past few years as I’ve figured things out.

To Julia Bicknell and Kate Sullivan for reading this book early on. You have always seen me in the full complexity of who I am and made me feel exceedingly safe to be my true self. And to Julia Furlan, Ashley Rodger, Colin Rodger, and Emily Giorgio, thank you for never seeing me as an author first. It means more to me than I could have ever known.

*Sigh* And now for you, Alex Reid. You went through the NASA documents with me, read the books, talked things through, and gave me so many ideas. But more than that, you read every draft of this love story between two women and always understood why I wanted to write it. You cheered me on every step of the way. I have never had to bury or deny any parts of myself in order to make sense to you. What a gift it is, to be loved like that.

And finally, as always, to Lilah. I told you the story of Joan and Vanessa the day I finished it. And you listened to every word. You gasped, and you swooned, and then, at the end, you cried. Nothing I’ve ever done creatively has been as satisfying as that. How lucky am I? To be the one to tell you a story. I will tell you stories forever, my love. And eagerly listen to all of yours. Because while the great expanse of space may be enticing, I belong here, with you, looking up at the stars from afar. You are, forever, my Frances.

Further Reading

If you are interested in learning more about NASA, the space shuttle program, astronomy, or astrophysics, here are some of the books I loved reading during the writing of this novel.

Shuttle, Houston: My Life in the Center Seat of Mission Control by Paul Dye

Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger

The New Guys: The Historic Class of Astronauts That Broke Barriers and Changed the Face of Space Travel by Meredith Bagby

The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush

The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy by Moiya McTier

Cosmos by Carl Sagan

The Art of Stargazing by Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock

The Science of “Interstellar” by Kip Thorne

About the Author

Taylor Jenkins Reid is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, including Carrie Soto Is Back, Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones & The Six, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their daughter.

taylorjenkinsreid.com

Instagram: @tjenkinsreid