Star Sailor: The Overview Effect Chronicles

Star Sailor: The Overview Effect Chronicles

Children’s book by Annahita Nezami & Frank White

?The Overview Effect is a term coined by Rhodes Scholar and space philosopher, Frank White to describe the unique experience of seeing planet Earth as a whole system from orbit or in space. White interviewed space travelers about their experiences of space flight which formed the foundation of his first book titled The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution, which was published in 1987.?Over the years the Overview Effect has grown in popularity, which has led to new releases of the book, with the fourth edition being published last year with over 40 interviews with astronauts.?

Star Sailor: The Overview Effect Chronicles?is a fantastic adventure story for children between the ages of 6-10. The plot begins with an imaginative eight-year-old girl called Eve whose parents regularly and unapologetically ship her off to stay with her unpleasant Aunt Fanny who lives in a small, dark, creaky cottage just outside a sleepy town in England called West Broom. Eve doesn’t have many friends and with her parents away all the time she feels rather lonely. So, she looks up to the stars to find mystery and wonder.?Eve doesn't think for a moment that her life could ever change until she meets a wise old owl named Sol who shows her that the sky is not the limit. The reader is transported on a magical and inspiring journey off-world to IMAGINARIUM, where our world is seen from above. The message at the heart of this book is about friendship, overcoming fear, and waking up from a deep slumber through expressions of hope, courage, love, and connection! It reminds us that we are all Star Sailors riding through the vast universe on a heroic journey.

Starsailor pays homage to ancestral Star Stories, to the courageous astronauts and cosmonauts who have captured our imagination since the dawn of Space Age I, and the literary science fiction geniuses like Arthur C. Clarke and Gerard K. O’Neil who have inspired us and helped shaped the world.?

We must keep the spark of adventure and curiosity burning bright in the hearts and minds of our young, for they are the generation who are the real agents of change in society, and the Overview Effect is a powerful idea that provides one way of achieving this.

The authors of Starsailor, a space philosopher, and a psychologist, from opposite ends of the globe, came from rather humble beginnings too, overcoming personal obstacles along the way.?Similarly, many astronauts and cosmonauts tell us stories of triumph over hardship as they worked towards accomplishing their dreams. Starsailor is a book that encourages children to try their best to rise above everyday issues and to hold a unique perspective of the world, to develop what Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides the founder of Yuri’s Night, ?refers to as the “explorers mindset”.?

It actually took us over five years to write and later publish Star Sailor with Multiverse. Two colleagues, who became friends, came together with big ideas; one of which was devoted to relaying the idea of the Overview Effect to children. As we wrote this little book of awe and wonder, we hoped we could transmit a little hope and optimism during turbulent times. We believe this book is extra special because the pages are etched with the astronaut’s own words of what it was like to see our home planet from a distant vantage point.

Many astronauts and cosmonauts return home after their space journeys with a strong determination to relay their experience to others. Jared Angaza from the Human Space Program was absolutely right when he said “the Overview Effect has provided a concept and a form of language that allows spacefarers to effectively relay their profound experience" (paraphrased). Former NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronauts like Nicole Stott strongly “believe that sharing these orbital and inner space perspectives has the power to inspire everyone's appreciation of our role as crewmates here on Spaceship Earth”, and since coming “down to Earth” she has set up the Space For Art Foundation where the goal is to inspire and touch the hearts of as many children and young people as possible through expressions of art and creativity.

Over the years everyday people have also felt inspired by the Overview Effect and this has given rise to various Overview Effect projects, including my own. My Overview Effect journey started in 2012 when I came across Frank White’s book while I was a psychology student.?I contacted him to see if I could carry out research with astronauts to understand the therapeutic value of the Overview Effect. After I completed my studies, I set up a social impact company called ‘EarthscapeVR’, and since then have devoted my career to researching, re-creating, and disseminating knowledge about the Overview Effect to everyday people.

Mark Wagner, Ph.D. founder of Ares Learning and author of More Now: A Message from The Future for The Educators of Today (2018) and Space Education: Preparing Students for Humanity’s Multi-Planet Future (2022), succinctly captured why books like Star Sailor are so important in today’s world, he said,

“There is no getting away from the fact that we are fast approaching a future where the first humans will go on interplanetary missions. The stories we create and tell our children are vitally important in shaping this future and should reflect the world they are about to enter. By creating narratives that inspire and empower young people around the world, we hope to play a small part in showing them that there is not only a world but an entire Universe filled with possibilities. If you, your students, or children are fans of Calvin and Hobbes, Harry Potter, Star Wars, or comic book superheroes… the first volume of?The Overview Effect Chronicles?is for you.

We invite you and your children to read Star Sailor. Perhaps this winter you can curl up together under a warm blanket with a cup of cocoa to marvel at the adventures Sol the Owl and Eve take. We hope this little book of awe and wonder touches your hearts, the same way it has ours!

We are all connected my friends, Ad Astra!