Q&A with Loren Grush

 

Photo by Christopher White

 

 

 

Loren Grush is the author, with Rebecca Steffoff, of the new book The Six--Young Readers Edition: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts. Grush is a space reporter for Bloomberg.

 

Q: How did this young readers’ edition of your book The Six come about?

 

A: My publisher and I quickly recognized how the story of The Six might appeal to younger readers. All of the women profiled in the book had big ambitions for their lives growing up, and many of them secretly harbored dreams of going to space when they were children.

 

I felt like those stories would be very relatable for a younger audience, as well as The Six's challenges navigating the media and culture once they reached NASA. 

 

Q: What did you see as the best approach when asked to tailor the book to kids?

 

A: I really did my best to write the original version of The Six for as general of an audience as possible.

 

I feel as if readers sometime get intimidated to read space books, especially if there’s a lot of jargon, so I tried to be cognizant of that when writing and structured the story in a way that felt accessible. So I hope that was a good jumping off point for everyone to read The Six.

 

But to tailor for a younger audience, I worked with a wonderful writer, Rebecca Stefoff, who helped to adapt my words for that audience. She did a fantastic job of focusing more on the women’s childhoods and college lives, spelling out how some of the engineering and machinery worked in an easy-to-read way, and providing necessary historical vignettes in sidebars that catch readers’ attentions. 

 

Q: The writer Jennifer Willis said of the book, “Through challenges, triumphs, and heartbreaks, The Six--Young Readers’ Edition underscores the power of dreaming big and never giving up.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I cannot think of a better summation! “Challenges, triumphs, and heartbreaks” is a very succinct description for the overall flow of the book. I particularly like focusing on the triumphs, though, as I feel like there’s always a lot of focus on the challenges.

 

But one point I like to highlight about The Six is that they really just wanted to do their jobs. Yes, those jobs were extraordinary ones with the world’s spotlight on them. But my favorite chapters to write were the ones centered on each of their flights, because that’s where you really got to see their personalities and problem-solving skills shine.

 

Q: What do you see as some of the most common perceptions and misconceptions about the first women astronauts?

 

A: Going into writing the book, I had my own preconceptions about the women’s personalities and their relationships to one another at NASA. I think in my mind I built them up as a cohesive clique at the agency, all sharing the same traits and opinions.

 

But of course that’s not reality. Each of The Six had her own vibrant personality, and I was always pleasantly surprised at how each of them reacted to various situations and trials they were presented with.

 

For instance, the makeup kit that NASA made for Sally Ride’s first flight often gets a lot of groans, but not all of the women were so opposed to the idea. They were public figures after all, and they knew they’d be on camera. I really enjoyed learning about them as individuals. 

 

Another point I make a lot is that not all of them knew they wanted to be astronauts growing up. I like highlighting that because I feel like that would have comforted me as a kid.

 

When I was younger, a lot of my peers seemed to know what their vocations were, and it took me a little bit longer to figure out where my life was headed. But as The Six illustrate, finding your dream can take some time and only reveal itself to you when new opportunities are presented.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Right now, I’m a space reporter for Bloomberg, where I cover NASA, space policy, the booming commercial space industry, and more. It’s an exciting job, and it certainly keeps me on my toes. There’s no shortage of news on a daily basis.

 

I’m focusing on that for now, but certainly dreaming of what longer stories I could write next.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I hope young readers of The Six enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. At times, it felt like an easy book to write because the women each had such fascinating lives. I could have easily written six individual books.

 

The Six isn’t even their entire stories, either — it only captures a somewhat short era of their lives at NASA. I feel honored to have spent some time immersing myself in that chapter of their history.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb