This nonfiction story is the outcome of conversations between two sisters who returned to their roots in California after pursuing careers in other parts of the world. One sister became an astronomer and the other the head of an international nonprofit organization while raising a family. The conversation in this book traces the career of the astronomer Sue as told to her sister Tige in 2022. This nonfictional work accurately portrays details of the professional pathway of Sue.
Both sisters were introduced to books by their mother who was a UCLA research librarian. At her earliest recollection Sue was intrigued by the immense distances and enormously long timeframes in astronomy and could not find enough books in the local library to satisfy her curiosity. Everyone has heard of black holes, some of quasars, and many dream about the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe. Yet very few choose careers in astronomy. Far fewer women than men pursue astronomy as a profession. College and graduate school laid foundations for becoming a research scientist, but did not necessarily prepare Sue for other aspects of her career in astronomy.