As a cancer survivor myself who also lost my dad to cancer, I related to so much of Hayley’s journey. I found myself highlighting major portions of the first half (the cancer portion) and constantly feeling incredibly seen.

The second half of the book focused on her journey into space and how the loss of her father and her cancer experience paved the way for her to dig deep and triumph in space.

My only complaint was how juvenile the writing felt. I enjoyed it, but this feels like it was written for a much younger target audience than adult. It didn’t make the book unenjoyable for me, but I think it could be hard for others to enjoy if they go into it thinking this is a more mature memoir.

I absolutely loved this book! Hayley was diagnosed with cancer at age 10, spent a year at St. Jude's childrens hospital, decided she wanted to work there, travelled a bunch, got a job at St. Jude's and then was selected last year to be their representative to go to space for a SpaceX fundraising mission for the hospital. I picked up the arc because my wife loves 1) sad cancer stories B) medical stuff and C) space and it felt like a slam dunk for her but I wanted to check it out first. Did not expect to like it as much as I did. It was extremely inspiring. I will definitely be buying a physical copy for my wife & I. Hayley's outlook on life is so inspiring and the book is written in such a way that is immensely readable, it made me laugh and a couple times made me tear up.

Arceneaux has had such a full, trying, and wonderful life. As a massive space fan who followed the Inspiration4 journey very closely (and entered more than once into the lottery for a seat), I especially enjoyed Part 2 of this book that described her mission and travel to space. Part 1 was heartbreaking, describing Hayley’s cancer diagnosis, treatment, and aftermath. However, despite the strength of the story being told, the writing itself was lacking in the first part. It felt a bit juvenile, but that may have fit in with Hayley’s diagnosis at such a young age. Overall, this was a quick and touching read. It was inspiring and stressed the dichotomy between Hayley’s younger years and her chance to fly in space. She doesn’t shy away from the hard parts of her journey, specifically in losing her father, the fear of being diagnosed with cancer as a child, needing her internal prosthesis replaced multiple times, and being rejected from her dream job. That made her journey relatable to anyone who has experienced loss or failure. Highly recommend!

TW: cancer, medical treatment, loss of a parent, loss of a parent to cancer, childhood cancer, vomiting, grief

Is it insensitive to say that a memoir about a young cancer survivor was an absolute delight to read?

I hope not, because this book was nothing less than that. The book is a memoir that “orbits” (get it?) Hayley Arceneaux who was diagnosed at age ten. We follow Hayley’s story from her childhood diagnosis, to her treatment, to her fathers terminal diagnosis, to her dream job and dream adventure.

Throughout the book I was pleasantly surprised by the bold optimism and resilience Hayley had, and the messages she shared were beyond inspiring and uplifting. Her writing is completely captivating and polished — y’all I did not want to put this down!

The title and cover alone had me gripped from the beginning, and the writing and contents did not disappoint. You are along for the ride through every bit of her adventurous life, the good and the bad. If you want a fast paced, beautiful, gripping read I cannot recommend this book enough. It releases on September 6, 2022.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher, Convergent Books, for the ARC.

When she was just ten years old, Hayley was diagnosed with bone cancer. Seeing in the incredible treatment of her and her family first hand, Hayley vowed that when she got older, she'd work for St. Jude. And then, she beat cancer, and her dream came true - she began working as a physician assistant for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. But then, life threw her another curve ball when she was invited to be on the very first all civilian mission into space as an ambassador for St. Jude. Hayley's memoir is all about fighting for life, and continuing to dream big dreams.

This is a beautiful memoir about a really hard time in a child's life. It walks through her cancer diagnosis and treatment, about the things she missed out on, as well as the death of her father. It also walks through the grueling training she undertook, along with her 3 other crew members to prepare for spending 3 days orbiting space. As a lifelong space nerd who dreams of seeing the world from orbit, I found the training and time in space incredibly interesting and would've loved to have read more of that.

I loved reading about Hayley's optimism throughout both her younger years as well as the tough parts of space. This memoir wasn't particularly well written but I still really loved reading it and I'm so glad I had the chance to see what an inspiration Hayley and her life is. I have no doubt she inspired a generation of pediatric cancer patients and survivors.

This book will be reviewed on an upcoming main show, or Patreon episode of Reading Through Life podcast.

Ms. Arceneaux's memoir is an upbeat, uplifting book that encourages the reader to keep fighting, keep trying, and keep living. She writes about her experiences with her childhood cancer diagnosis and treatment, giving just enough detail to communicate the reality of the hardships and challenges she experienced without turning her memoir into misery porn. She also writes about the ways that education and world travel (for pleasure and for volunteer work as a physician assistant in underserved communities) changed her life and her outlook on subjects like immigration and access to health care. The segment of the book about her journey to space was fascinating; getting to read about the months-long process of training and preparation for the trip as well as the trip itself from the perspective of a civilian instead of an astronaut was a wonderfully refreshing experience, since it allowed me (also not an astronaut) to imagine what my own experience in space might be like if I were lucky enough to ever make the journey.

Thanks to NetGalley and Convergent Books for the opportunity to read this book!

Very interesting book. I wasn't sure I would like it, but I really did!! I'll be on the lookout for more from this author.

This is absolutely inspiring and worthy reading! Wild Ride is a memoir by Hayley Arceneaux who is a cancer survivor, physician assistant and the youngest astronaut in America. While she was diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 10, followed by chemotherapy and knee replacement at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Hayley always stays positive throughout her life. Aspiring to be a paediatrician since her cancer, she has returned to work at St. Jude at Memphis, which she hated so much as a kid. Soon after working at St. Jude, she was recruited to be one of the crew for Inspiration4, a commercial space mission initiated by Jared Isaacman to raise funds for the hospital. Half of the crew was female, and Hayley became the first person in space with a prosthetic body part, as well as the first paediatric cancer survivor and the youngest American in history.

Throughout the story, it is very well-written with Hayley's experiences in fighting cancer, traveling both on the Earth and in space, and contributing to the community. I personally love the part when she returns to St. Jude and continue spreading hopes to young cancer patients. This book is a wild ride despite a slow start, but I totally like this motivational story with various topics covered!

Thank you NetGalley and Convergent Books for this eARC, and my review is provided voluntarily!

What a fabulous story of the trials a girl goes through. After her diagnosis of cancer, Hayley Areneaux was determined to practice medicine so she could help other children with cancer at her beloved St. Judes. When she was offered a chance to fly to space she jumped t the chance but only after negotiating her flight as a fund raiser for St. Jude. Though the rigorous training she endured to make herself ready for the flight cut into her medical practice, she arranged to take a leave of absence but be able to return when she returned to earth.

Join Hayley on her ride through flight training, medical school, space adventure, a video call from space, and her return to St. Judes.

Well written, engaging, and a great feel-good story.

Such a inspirational and poignant story and positive motivation for present-day children with cancer. I know very well the wonderful work they do at St. Jude's and how amazing that she overcame the odds and became a PA there. As an ambassador for St. Jude's she is chosen to represent them as the youngest person to orbit the earth.
Just the training she had to undergo to do that is an incredible feat.

This was a wonderful read. It was a little slow to start, but she had quite the story to tell. It was moving and motivational.

Arceneaux provides a cheerful and engaging memoir alternating between her childhood battling cancer, an adult working with young cancer patients as a physician's assistant, and the winner of a seat on a space shuttle. She's upbeat, credits her loving family and personable medical staff without being overly sappy, and provides enough detail to bring readers into her experiences without overwhelming them. Not a fantastic read but an enjoyable one for readers interested in any of the topics.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
I have admired Hayley Arceneaux since I first heard about her being picked to go to space so I was super excited to be approved to read an early review copy of her book. She is definitely an incredible person. I could relate a bit to her experience of cancer when she was 10 years old as I too had a life threatening illness at age 10. Although mine wasn't cancer, it forever changed my life and has done tremendous damage to my body. I loved reading about her experience as a child under St. Jude's care and how supportive most people were. I could relate to the child bullying after she went back to school.
She is the perfect person to be working at St. Jude as she has experienced what her patients are going through. She is genuinely a happy, positive, and nice woman.
The section of the book about her experience training for her trip to space was very fascinating. (I can also relate to her mountaineering of an easier time hiking up and a lot harder time hiking down as I have that difficulty too due to vision loss.)
I love this book and I'm so happy she wrote about her experiences.