To the Moon and Back

A Novel

By: Eliana Ramage

Narrated by: Nathalie Standingcloud, Kamali Minter, Tanis Parenteau

One young woman’s relentless quest to become the first Cherokee astronaut will irrevocably alter the fates of the people she loves most in this tour de force of a debut about ambition, belonging, and family.

My mother took my sister and me, and she drove through the night to a place she felt a claim to, a place on earth she thought we might be safe. I stopped asking questions. I picked little glass pieces from my sister’s hair. I watched the moon.

Steph Harper is on the run. When she was five, her mother fled an abusive husband—with Steph and her younger sister in tow—to Cherokee Nation, where she hoped they might finally belong. In response, Steph sets her sights as far away from Oklahoma as she can get, vowing that she will let nothing get in the way of pursuing the rigorous physical and academic training she knows she will need to be accepted by NASA, and ultimately, to go to the moon.

Spanning three decades and several continents, To the Moon and Back encompasses Steph’s turbulent journey, along with the multifaceted and intertwined lives of the three women closest to her: her sister Kayla, an artist who goes on to become an Indigenous social media influencer, and whose determination to appear good takes her life to unexpected places; Steph’s college girlfriend Della Owens, who strives to reclaim her identity as an adult after being removed from her Cherokee family through a challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act; and Hannah, Steph and Kayla’s mother, who has held up her family’s tribal history as a beacon of inspiration to her children, all the while keeping her own past a secret.

In Steph’s certainty that only her ambition can save her, she will stretch her bonds with each of these women to the point of breaking, at once betraying their love and generosity, and forcing them to reconsider their own deepest desires in her shadow. Told through an intricately woven tapestry of narrative, To the Moon and Back is an astounding and expansive novel of mothers and daughters, love and sacrifice, alienation and heartbreak, terror and wonder. At its core, it is the story of the extraordinary lengths to which one woman will go to find space for herself.

©2025 Eliana Ramage (P)2025 Simon & Schuster Audio

soul shaking

as a non-native Oklahoma girl, I found the story riveting and enlightening. I can't recommend this book highly enough. The characters will capture your heart and the narrative performances bring them so vividly to life that I feel I've made new friends. my time spent with tribal people is treasured and this book took me right back to those experiences. you will fall in love with Kayla and Steph and Hannah and Della and the rest, I feel certain.

Monotonous narration

I couldn’t get past the monotone narration. Premise of the story seemed interesting. Maybe if read book instead of listened

Grounded Astronaut

A person of Native American decent tries to figure out life, as a Gay Native American, aspiring astronaut, a sister of an opposite minded yet similar sister and an enigma of their mother. Is everything always right there, just needing fresh perspective?

To the Moon and Back

I loved the story. It was well written and captivating. I could not put it down!!

Incredible & Beautiful

I absolutely love the story the narrators, beautiful voice retelling these events I’m obsessed!! definitely sharing this story with my Book Club friends

Boring, selfish and whines the whole book.

I kept waiting for a point, a real story or something of value. Never found it. Made it to part 3 and I'm just not sure how much longer I can hang in waiting for a real story and something of value.

Can’t take anymore!

Boring story. Monotonous narration. Too long. Bailing for now. May or may not pick it up again.

Slow

I found the story hard to follow. It started to get too slow and I lost my interest

Disappointing

This book attempts to weave together stories of Cherokee history, astronauts, and lesbian experiences. Unfortunately, the narratives felt disjointed and lacked the strong, uplifting qualities I was hoping for. Instead, the focus seemed repeatedly tangled in the characters’ lesbian love lives, which overshadowed the more intriguing themes. I found myself dragging through it rather than being pulled in.