Starstruck

A Memoir of Astrophysics and Finding Light in the Dark

By: Sarafina El-Badry Nance

Narrated by: Sarafina El-Badry Nance

In a beautifully written, science-packed, and inspirational memoir, Egyptian-American astrophysicist Sarafina El-Badry Nance shares how she boldly carved out a place in the field of astrophysics, grounding herself in a lifelong love of the stars to face life’s inevitable challenges and embrace the unknown.

As a child, Sarafina El-Badry Nance spent nearly every evening with her father gazing up at the flickering stars and pondering what secrets the night sky held. The daughter of an American father and Egyptian mother who both pushed her toward academic excellence, Sarafina dreamed of becoming an astronomer and untangling the mysteries of the stars overhead. But it wasn’t long before she was told, both explicitly and implicitly, that girls just weren’t cut out for math and science.

In Starstruck, Sarafina invites us to consider the cosmos through fascinating science lessons to open each chapter. But she also traces more earthbound obstacles—of misogyny and racism, abuse and intergenerational trauma, anxiety and self-doubt, cancer diagnoses and recovery—she faced along the way. As her career and passion for space brought her from UT Austin to UC Berkeley, and even to a Mars astronaut simulation in Hawai’i, Sarafina learned how to survive—and ultimately thrive—in a space that was seldom welcoming to women, and especially not to women of color.

Honest and empowering, Starstruck sits at the intersection of the study of our cosmos—itself constantly changing—and the transformative experience of embracing resilience to pursue one’s passion.

©2023 Sarafina El-Badry Nance (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Fascinating memoir…Nance [is] a passionate advocate for science literacy, cancer prevention, her fellow Arab Americans, and women in science. Readers will be intrigued by these topics and more, and inspired by the young scientist who brings them to life.”—Booklist

"Nance is all about making space feel accessible and personal through education and engagement. Should help STEM-curious readers feel less alone in the universe."—Philadelphia Inquirer

“Thanks to Nance’s genius for clear explanations, I understand how, with pressure and time, suns are created. How fitting, then, to be learning of Nance’s own journey: the dark pressures of childhood, the molten hot passion for science, and the way these forces combined to make the brilliant light that is Sarafina Nance. A star is born!”—Mary Roach, New York Times bestselling author of Fuzz and Packing for Mars

This story is worth hearing

I pre-ordered this book the day before it’s release on a whim. Its not the kind of book I normally read and was a little wary at first. After a day or two I realized that I really wanted to keep listening and was okay with listening to parts multiple times if I didn’t get it at first. There is so much to relate to in your story and even more to learn from it. I’m already looking forward to reading it again.

Beautiful story!

Sarafine’s story is the perfect mix of science and a life lived. It was so relatable being a woman of science and high achieving anxiety. Thank you for the reminder to be a student of life 💕
Highly recommend!!

Live lessons for me

Loved the way she tells her story and in the end she becomes a warrior ❤️

Bray

I was thinking it was going to be more science/math/being a woman in a man’s world and with that much more difficult to understand. But it turned out to be a perfect blend of the personal and the science. Thank you for sharing your journey and all of your ups and downs.

Wasted few hours of my life

Whiny overplays victimization as Middle Eastern. Even though she looks white and has a white name, I can't help but wonder how the story would have been different if she hadn't lived in liberal Austin and attended a private school. She portrays Middle Easterners as violent through broad generalizations. She consistently exaggerates victimization by every man and generalizes instances of abuse. The audiobook is incredibly slow; I had to listen to it at 1.7x to 2x speed. I regret wasting a credit on it, especially since I prebought the book and was initially excited to listen to it. The book draws you in with the hope of something positive, but it predominantly focuses on her criticizing numerous surgeons who declined to operate on her due to disagreements with the action plan. Essentially, it's just another victimization story seeking self-glory. It seems that she aspires to become an influencer. Referring to herself as a researcher after only 2 years in research raises eyebrows. I wish her good health and success.

Very, very misleading title

I painfully struggled through this entire book just so I could review it. It’s hard to believe this person is an astrophysicist. 10 hours of complaining with little tidbits of science that could be easily found on Wikipedia. She has gone through struggles in her life, but so has everyone and do a little research to find out how she covered the cost of her healthcare.

She sounds more like a fortune cookie or an astrologer rather than an astronomer. Literally rips off Sagan, Tyson, and Carroll without any mention of the actual incredible women who have made tremendous discoveries in the science of astrophysics and complains about them never being mentioned. Here was your chance and you brought no light to their contributions.

It’s obvious NASA has lowered their standards letting this person into their organization…read this book and you’ll see a ton of red flags.

This is one person’s opinion, so for those who have found inspiration from this person thats cool, but I would highly recommend reading the works of Carl Sagan or other science communicators for a better understanding of astrophysics.

This book is NOT recommended.