I enjoyed learning about the kinds of people who have a “calling” plus the courage and intellect to explore the extreme, both here on earth and in the galaxy. For me, I came away thinking more about the varying ways humans feel and deal with: relationships, loneliness, balancing personal vs professional goals, and survival.The story is well-written and has an interesting twist that I didn’t realize until about two-thirds into the book. There was enough suspense to keep me intrigued about how the 2 parallel stories would eventually intertwine.