An Astronaut's Life

It's a good father-daughter moment for them. When they finally spot Venus through the telescope, they share a similar sense of looking at something larger than their lives. It's a whole different planet, and when it fills the viewfinder Catherine stops thinking about the rain and feels what it might be like to inhabit a different life.

Invasive technology, rampant consumerism, the destruction of the natural world—this extraordinary collection explores the most urgent issues of our time. In sparkling prose, Sonja Dechian's profound, moving and wry stories speak to our deepest yearning for connection—and the inevitability of our isolation.

From a terrorist cell of cyber-bullying victims working to annihilate the digital memory of their humiliation, to a pandemic that leaves grieving parents battling for the media spotlight, these affecting tales invite us to examine our inability to control the world around us—or our own desires.

An Astronaut's Life is a beautiful debut from a sharp, intelligent new voice in Australian writing.