It features life stories, but it is not a traditionally organized biography of a single individual or a collection of biographies. Stone relates the story of women’s eventual entry to NASA’s space program by focusing on the stories of 13 women who dreamed of being astronauts and proved themselves through a private testing program in the early 1960s to be just as capable as their male counterparts.Īlmost Astronauts is a history text that is highly biographical.

Tanya Lee Stone’s Almost Astronauts, 13 Women Who Dared to Dream is an important narrative in that history. The COVID-19 Pandemic has highlighted continued disparities as women have dropped out of the workforce at far higher numbers than their male counterparts, likely due to disproportionate responsibilities of child care and housework (Bateman & Ross, 2020).Īs we continue to work toward greater equality for women, here in the United States and globally, it is critical to share with young people the stories of women across history who have worked toward breaking boundaries for themselves and for other women.

This celebratory moment stood both as a joyous milestone marking just ‘how far’ women have come and was at the same time a stark reminder of persistent gender inequities in our society. The oath of office was administered by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina member of the court. On January 20, 2021, we witnessed the swearing in of the first woman vice president of the United States of America.

Almost astronauts by tanya lee stone