Smallest Lights in the Universe (Seager) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
[S]tark, bewitching…. The merciless seesaw of [Seager's] grief makes for harrowing reading… [but also] gleams with insights into what it means to lose a partner in midlife…. [The book] beautifully dramatize[s] …the challenges of being female physical scientists in a male-dominated field, and convey[s] the struggle of operating in the vast scales of the universe at work, then commuting home to operate in the humbler scales of the domestic sphere…. [Seager] exemplifies the humanity of science.


(Starred review) [B]rilliant, emotionally wrought ... Seager’s openhearted prose is clean and exact, and her observations illuminate the human drive to connect with others. This wondrous tale of discovery, loss, and love is both expansive intimate.
Publishers Weekly

(Starred review) Seager… has intertwined her lifelong love of the stars with her personal story of love and loss and renewal.… This thoughtful and affecting memoir… reads like a comforting novel, inspiring others to follow their dreams and never give up on the possibilities of discovery and self-reflection. —Donna Marie Smith, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., FL
Library Journal


(Starred review) Seager’s writing is unfailingly accessible and compelling. Sometimes the chapters alternate between biographical and scientific developments, other times events are intertwined, but again, readers will remain fully engaged throughout.… Readers will cheer for the happy ending.
Booklist


(Starred review) For someone who has devoted so much of her life to exploring the possibility of life on other planets,… it was a more personal discovery—that she was autistic—that made her feel like "I’d been struck by something, a physical impact." … A singular scientist has written a singular account of her life and work.
Kirkus Reviews