The Smallest Lights In The Universe

Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science and Technology in 2020

‘Her story is sure to help any readers grappling with a similar loss… Full of blues and blacks, written in the ink of grief, suffering, healing and — ultimately — clarity…’ Anthony Doerr, The New York Times

‘Seager’s beautifully written memoir strikes the perfect balance, weaving a richly told personal story with a clear and accessible tale of the birth and development of a new kind of astronomy – the search for other worlds like our own’ Katie Mack, astrophysicist, author of The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking)

‘I absolutely loved this book. It presents both cutting-edge science and the deeply human side of a MacArthur award-winning 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

‘The miracle of this breathtaking book is the way Sara Seager’s search for life in the universe mirrors her search for a fitting life here on earth. Who knew that so much love and beauty and hope could come from so much confusion and fear and grief? Who knew that the macrocosm and the microcosm could end up being the very same thing?’ Margaret Renkl, author of Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss

Sara Seager is an astrophysicist and a professor of physics and planetary science at MIT. She led NASA’s Probe Study team for the Starshade project. Her research is focused on the search for the first Earth-like exoplanet, and she has introduced many new ideas to the field of exoplanet characterization, including work that led to the first detection of an exoplanet atmosphere. She lives with her husband and sons in Concord, Massachusetts.