Book about 1960s space race gives new meaning to loving someone to the moon and back
Earth is the sideline and also the main setting in a new book that explores the risk taken by astronauts and their families during the 1960s space race.
Far Side of the Moon, by Edmonton author Liisa Jorgensen, retells the story of the first men to see the moon's other face during the Apollo 8 mission.
Commander Frank Borman and pilots William Anders and James Lovell Jr. made history during the December 1968 space trip, which was considered an overall success.
Frank Borman appears in this photo from 1968. (Source: NASA)
Frank Borman appears in this photo from 1968. (Source: NASA)
But there had been no guarantee of that when the men were still on Earth, or even that they'd return.
In her first book, based on a series of interviews with Borman about his relationship with his wife, Susan Borman, Jorgensen explores the toll of NASA's goals on a woman watching her husband risk his life in the name of science.
"In my research, (I) started realizing that the wives had not really been represented," Jorgensen said.
"I didn't want them to ever come off as being victims in any way. They very much believed in what their husbands were trying to accomplish and so they supported them in any way they could, even though there was a very good chance they would end up widows."
Far Side of the Moon, by Edmonton author Liisa Jorgensen, retells the story of the first men to see the moon's other face during the Apollo 8 mission and the impact their mission had on their families.
Far Side of the Moon, by Edmonton author Liisa Jorgensen, retells the story of the first men to see the moon's other face during the Apollo 8 mission and the impact their mission had on their families.
Jorgensen began interviewing Borman, now 93, at his Montana home in 2019.
She says the conversations provided an intimate glimpse into the years surrounding 1968, when pressure and attention on Borman's mission were highest.
An earlier Apollo catastrophe killed three astronauts. Borman was tasked with the redesign to carry men to the moon, also effectively the space program's last lifeline. There would have been no Apollo 11 without Apollo 8.
"So you can imagine he just wasn't around," Jorgensen told CTV News Edmonton.
The astronauts' wives were overnight celebrities, expected to dress a certain way and often followed by reporters.
Susan Borman is shown in this photo from 1965. Source: NASA
Susan Borman is shown in this photo from 1965. Source: NASA
"That amount of stress at some point comes up, and it did later."
The writer said Borman was "very open and honest about everything, the ways that he felt he contributed to her suffering."
"He wasn't trying to gloss anything over at this point in his life."
In fact, Jorgensen said the astronaut didn't even hesitate when she proposed the book -- she believes to give his late wife a voice.
Far Side of the Moon, by Edmonton author Liisa Jorgensen, retells the story of the first men to see the moon's other face during the Apollo 8 mission and the impact their mission had on their families. She is pictured here, left, with Apollo 8 commander Frank Borman. The book is based on interviews with Borman about his eight-decades-long relationship with Susan Borman.
The Bormans' relationship spanned eight decades. Susan died with Alzheimer's in September 2021. Jorgensen met the non-verbal woman once; she says Susan smiled as they held hands.
"I think she would say thank you. I know I would."
The book, subtitled Apollo 8 Commander Frank Borman and the Woman Who Gave Him Wings, goes on sale in December.
Jorgensen and her husband's company, Myth Merchant Films, also has the rights to develop a movie and has begun work on a script.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.