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A Journal for Christa: Christa McAuliffe, Teacher in Space
Most people remember where they were when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, just as they remember how they felt when humans first set foot on the moon. Elements of both reactions are present in the story of Christa McAuliffe, the energetic young schoolteacher chosen to be the first civilian to go into space—and who died with her astronaut companions in the Challenger explosion of January 28, 1986. In this straightforward memoir, McAuliffe's mother, Grace George Corrigan, makes it very clear just who and what the nation lost in the Challenger tragedy. The product of family history, notes and letters, and the commemorative efforts to honor her daughter, A Journal for Christa provides a very personal biography of a remarkable young woman. Christa McAuliffe's story is solidly American—the eldest child of a close Catholic Massachusetts family, and a dedicated Girl Scout, she came of age in the turbulent sixties and early seventies and became a schoolteacher and mother. Generous, outgoing, funny, and beloved by her many friends and students, she was little known beyond her personal circle until selected by NASA to be the first civilian sent on a space mission as the "Teacher in Space." Whether or not the selection was a publicity stunt, Christa McAuliffe may have proved more than NASA bargained for. Honest, direct, and outspoken, she was impatient with the stultifying ceremonies of the government bureaucracy and did not hesitate to speak out on behalf of the constituency she felt she had been selected to American public schoolteachers and the children in their classrooms.
215 pages, Paperback
First published September 11, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 7, 2010
One of the biggest dis-services I place on a book (of any kind) is "going into it" with a preconceive notion of how I think it is going to be. I think this was the biggest problem I had with this book: it was not what I thought it was.
To start, please indulge me with a little latitude as to why I was so interested in this book. To start, once upon a time, in a land not too far away, my sister had the opportunity to meet Christa McAuliffe, the "Teacher-Astronaut" who was killed when the space shuttle Challenger exploded in January 1986. As fate would have it, due to a military assignment of my father's, our family was relocated to a "new town" and I (and my same sister) were enrolled in Challenger Middle School (which had recently had a name change to commemorate the space shuttle explosion and the dedication of its crew. Do you think that is coincidence enough? Just wait; it gets better. A little while ago, while in my "clear out my bookshelf so I can get more books" phase, I was peddling my "previously enjoyed" books at local used bookstores to see if any were interested; coincidentally enough, this phase coincided with the "biography/autobiography/memoir phase" through which I was experiencing. When given the "store credit only" option at one shop, I used this opportunity to browse through their memoir section and there it was: a book about this same teacher-astronaut, Christa McAuliffe. And if that was not enough to make me have to have this book, as I opened the front cover, there was a note written on the title page to a "Terry" from Grace Corrigan, the author and Christa McAuliffe's mother - JACKPOT!
Needless to say, I was pretty excited about reading this book. Unfortunately, as I got home, the excitement soon faded and this book turned into a "Yup...I should read that one soon" book each time I looked at the bookshelf. Fate stepped in again in the form of my book club which chose biography/autobiography/memoir of your choice as this month's selection; should I tempt fate yet again? Not this time!
I want to preface this review by conceding the following: yes, I had a preconceived notion as to about what the book would/should be; yes, I "knew" it was just going to be a page-turner and captivate my every thought; yes, I was ready to "soak up" all of the bits and pieces of wisdom that this influential woman could offer. As I mentioned previously, this is no way to address a new book.
There is a section in the book which addresses Christa's journal; in this she would record all of her experiences, thoughts, and emotions so that she could share them with others when appropriate, "...this is what my life was like." After reading the entire book, I can somewhat see what Grace Corrigan was wanting to accomplish: since Christa was not able to conclude this herself, Corrigan attempted to compile data, experiences, and a timeline surrounding Christa's life: growing up, meeting her husband, becoming a teacher, joining the NASA Teacher in Space Program, and all that which surrounded her death. If anything, I feel that this undertaking by her mother was a way for her to come to terms with what occurred; at face value it was well written and intensely documented, researched, and compiled. Unfortunately, I felt as though there was too much time/space spent on the "non-Christa" information than that which directly described/documented her life and experiences.
This being said, I want to be clear that I did enjoy the book, but it was not the book which I initially thought I was going to read. I remember watching the launch and subsequent explosion in my elementary school classroom and found all of the reaction which were documented in the story to be very fascinating - many of them reminding me of what it felt like at that time. I learned a bit, remembered a bit, and had a few "Oh, that's interesting" moments. All in all, it still astounds me how one woman can have such an impact on so many people around the world.
To start, please indulge me with a little latitude as to why I was so interested in this book. To start, once upon a time, in a land not too far away, my sister had the opportunity to meet Christa McAuliffe, the "Teacher-Astronaut" who was killed when the space shuttle Challenger exploded in January 1986. As fate would have it, due to a military assignment of my father's, our family was relocated to a "new town" and I (and my same sister) were enrolled in Challenger Middle School (which had recently had a name change to commemorate the space shuttle explosion and the dedication of its crew. Do you think that is coincidence enough? Just wait; it gets better. A little while ago, while in my "clear out my bookshelf so I can get more books" phase, I was peddling my "previously enjoyed" books at local used bookstores to see if any were interested; coincidentally enough, this phase coincided with the "biography/autobiography/memoir phase" through which I was experiencing. When given the "store credit only" option at one shop, I used this opportunity to browse through their memoir section and there it was: a book about this same teacher-astronaut, Christa McAuliffe. And if that was not enough to make me have to have this book, as I opened the front cover, there was a note written on the title page to a "Terry" from Grace Corrigan, the author and Christa McAuliffe's mother - JACKPOT!
Needless to say, I was pretty excited about reading this book. Unfortunately, as I got home, the excitement soon faded and this book turned into a "Yup...I should read that one soon" book each time I looked at the bookshelf. Fate stepped in again in the form of my book club which chose biography/autobiography/memoir of your choice as this month's selection; should I tempt fate yet again? Not this time!
I want to preface this review by conceding the following: yes, I had a preconceived notion as to about what the book would/should be; yes, I "knew" it was just going to be a page-turner and captivate my every thought; yes, I was ready to "soak up" all of the bits and pieces of wisdom that this influential woman could offer. As I mentioned previously, this is no way to address a new book.
There is a section in the book which addresses Christa's journal; in this she would record all of her experiences, thoughts, and emotions so that she could share them with others when appropriate, "...this is what my life was like." After reading the entire book, I can somewhat see what Grace Corrigan was wanting to accomplish: since Christa was not able to conclude this herself, Corrigan attempted to compile data, experiences, and a timeline surrounding Christa's life: growing up, meeting her husband, becoming a teacher, joining the NASA Teacher in Space Program, and all that which surrounded her death. If anything, I feel that this undertaking by her mother was a way for her to come to terms with what occurred; at face value it was well written and intensely documented, researched, and compiled. Unfortunately, I felt as though there was too much time/space spent on the "non-Christa" information than that which directly described/documented her life and experiences.
This being said, I want to be clear that I did enjoy the book, but it was not the book which I initially thought I was going to read. I remember watching the launch and subsequent explosion in my elementary school classroom and found all of the reaction which were documented in the story to be very fascinating - many of them reminding me of what it felt like at that time. I learned a bit, remembered a bit, and had a few "Oh, that's interesting" moments. All in all, it still astounds me how one woman can have such an impact on so many people around the world.
December 7, 2020
An intimate look at the life of the Corrigan family while bringing up its first born, Christa.
Christa -- the child, the student, the girl scout, the big sister, the co-ed, the wife, the teacher, the mother, and finally, the teacher in space winner -- liked to keep journals. When her first child was born in the mid 70s, she was writing everything down because she wanted her son to know what life was like then when he would one day read his mother's words. At the time she said, "I wish my mother had done this for me."
Grace Corrigan never forgot her daughter's wish, and what you read in "A Journal for Christa" is basically a love letter from a mother to her daughter.
From Christa Corrigan McAuliffe's early childhood years and throughout her life, it is easy to understand how she would become the first civilian chosen to orbit the earth aboard NASA's Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986. She was always an inspiration to everyone around her.
The shuttle's explosion just 73 seconds after liftoff, and it's harrowing aftermath, is a relatively small part of the grieving mother's journal -- understandably so. She wrote it within the first 5 years following the disaster when it was still so horribly raw. In that part of the story, she focuses on carrying on her daughter's mission to elevate teachers and the teaching profession to their rightful place in the world --- touching the future.
It is absolutely incredible how great an indelible mark Christa McAuliffe left on this world. Her mission continues even today, and she will never be forgotten.
Christa -- the child, the student, the girl scout, the big sister, the co-ed, the wife, the teacher, the mother, and finally, the teacher in space winner -- liked to keep journals. When her first child was born in the mid 70s, she was writing everything down because she wanted her son to know what life was like then when he would one day read his mother's words. At the time she said, "I wish my mother had done this for me."
Grace Corrigan never forgot her daughter's wish, and what you read in "A Journal for Christa" is basically a love letter from a mother to her daughter.
From Christa Corrigan McAuliffe's early childhood years and throughout her life, it is easy to understand how she would become the first civilian chosen to orbit the earth aboard NASA's Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986. She was always an inspiration to everyone around her.
The shuttle's explosion just 73 seconds after liftoff, and it's harrowing aftermath, is a relatively small part of the grieving mother's journal -- understandably so. She wrote it within the first 5 years following the disaster when it was still so horribly raw. In that part of the story, she focuses on carrying on her daughter's mission to elevate teachers and the teaching profession to their rightful place in the world --- touching the future.
It is absolutely incredible how great an indelible mark Christa McAuliffe left on this world. Her mission continues even today, and she will never be forgotten.
January 3, 2024
Disjointed and full of information readers just don't need to know. I understand her mother's sentiments, but it leaves a lot to be desired. There is little to no mention of her children and how this endeavor impacted them.
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September 17, 2021Mission accomplished.
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February 20, 2009this book was a good if you would want to learn more about Christa McAuliffe then you should read this book. before she went up in space she was talking to her students on the phone and told them to take and when she gets back they will take a test so make sure they were paying attention. when she got off the phone with kids she got on the space shuttle and they were getting ready to take off. when they took off only 78 seconds after they took of Christa McAuliffe was turning on the computer and she asked her back up what is this button for? so she pushed it and 2 seconds later the space shuttle exploded and everyone at the space center was scared and when the kids in her class room was all sad and they went home and told their parents and everyone saw it live on the news and the book also talks about her whole life so i think you should read this book if you want to learn more about Christa McAuliffe
July 4, 2016
I can remember the first time I learned about Christa. I'm my history book for school there was a little blurb about her and what happened. Since then I've always wanted to learn more and have read a lot about her. I have had this book since I was younger but could never get through it. I think back then I wanted this book to be different. Now being older I have finally finished it and think the reason I never before had was because it is heavy. It has lots of good stories but also shows the struggles after the tragedy.
March 17, 2008
This is written by Christa's mother. I have an autographed copy.
March 29, 2012
I thought this was a great book; Christa led an admirable life and it was very moving and inspirational to read about her life through her mother's memories.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews