In a Chapters bookstore, under the title “Heather’s Picks” on a table at the front of the store, is where I found Chris Hadfield’s An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth. 

You can’t tell from far away, but the astronaut on the front cover is riding a skateboard. Flipping the book over, the words the pop out on the back cover are “inspiring” and “make your dreams come true.”

Recalling the conversation we had in class about the young adult edition of I Am Malala, I remembered a comment about the use of the phrase “change the world” to appeal to a younger audience. An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth at first appears to have the same sort of appeal, but a quick glance at the first couple of pages proves otherwise; the language is hardly kid-friendly. This is not a book written for children, so why such a cover?

It’s possible that the book was designed this way to encourage recollection of the reader’s own childhoods, of wanting to be an astronaut or some other “dream” that they couldn’t realize. It seems to be created as to appeal to a wide range of people, with reviews from all the big names like the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail, Kirkland Review and the New York Times.

The content itself, judging from the back cover, the blurb and reviews on Amazon, seems to align with the values of society: hard work, perseverance, and following your dreams. The word “Canadian” comes up a lot as well, perhaps to create a  sense of nationalism in the reader who can feel proud to be Canadian too.

Hadfield’s memoir seems to be marketed to the “average Canadian.” It doesn’t appear to touch on controversial topics, or engage compassion or sympathy. Instead it tells the story of an ordinary person who managed to accomplish something out of the ordinary, showing the reader that he, too, can follow his dreams… Provided he isn’t an asylum seeker trying to escape persecution, that is.

I found it interesting, considering some of the turmoil going on in the world right now, that this narrative was brought to the front of the store and that, according to the listings on Amazon, it is a bestseller. Maybe this is because readers are more likely to buy books that make them feel happy and that don’t poke at controversy or difficult issues, but the books surrounding An Astronaut’s Guide to Like on Earth seemed to follow the trend of being about older white men. Personally I would like to see more diversity in narratives brought to the public’s attention – whether that be by placing them under “Heather’s Picks” or putting them on Amazon’s home page – so that the voices and stories that are so often ignored have the chance to be heard.