Star Crossed - by Kimberly C Moore (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book is a behind-the-scenes look at the bizarre crime of astronaut Lisa Nowak, who drove 900 miles to intercept and confront her romantic rival in an airport parking lot--allegedly using diapers on the trip so she wouldn't have to stop. This is a riveting journey inside the high-pressure world of one of America's most elite agencies and the life of one beleaguered astronaut.

Book Synopsis

The astronaut crime that shocked the world

Star Crossed transports readers to the moment the news broke that one of America's heroes, an astronaut who had flown aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery& just months before, had been arrested for a very bizarre crime.

Lisa Nowak had driven 900 miles from Houston to Orlando to intercept and confront her romantic rival in an airport parking lot--allegedly using diapers on the trip so she wouldn't have to stop. Nowak had been dating astronaut William "Billy" Oefelein when she learned that Oefelein was seeing a new girlfriend--U.S. Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman. The "astronaut love triangle" scandal quickly made headlines. The world watched as Nowak was dismissed from NASA, pleaded guilty to a felony, and received an "other than honorable" military discharge.

An award-winning investigative reporter who covered Nowak's criminal case, Kimberly Moore offers behind-the-scenes insights into Nowak's childhood, her rigorous training, and her mission to space. Moore ventures inside the mind of the detective who studied the actions Nowak took that fateful February night. She includes never-before-told details of Nowak's psychiatric diagnosis, taking a serious look at how someone so accomplished could spiral into mental illness to the point of possible attempted murder.

This book spotlights the often-overlooked psychological health of astronauts, exploring how they are cared for by NASA doctors and what changes have been made in recent years to support space travelers on long-term missions. Expertly told, Moore's story is a riveting journey inside the high-pressure world of one of America's most elite agencies and the life of one beleaguered astronaut.

Review Quotes

"A fair and insightful look at a case that dominated headlines. Moore brings nuance and depth to the tragic story of Lisa Nowak. It's impossible to read and not feel some level of empathy for all involved. As Moore shows through painstaking research and attention to detail, Nowak's story is so much more than a joke for late-night TV; it's a cautionary tale of how quickly and irretrievably life can change."--Mara Bellaby, executive editor, Florida Today

"Fast-paced and absorbing. . . . An entertaining 265-page mixture of a true crime story and an intensely human drama."--Tallahassee Democrat

"In 2007, former astronaut Lisa Nowak drove from Houston to Orlando to confront U.S. Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman, the woman who broke up the ongoing affair between Nowak and another NASA astronaut, William Oefelein. She was arrested for assault after pepper-spraying Shipman, but the police had reason to believe murder may have been her intent. The details of Nowak's crime are saved until the second half of the book. The first half focuses on her space flight in 2006, her colleagues' thoughts about her, and her subsequent failure to qualify for a trip to the moon. Journalist Moore, who originally covered Nowak's criminal trial for Florida Today, makes a compelling case that Nowak was suffering a breakdown at the time of the crime; not in spite of being an astronaut, but rather directly related to her career. The sections exploring the mental and emotional demands made of astronauts, and NASA's declining mental-health screening and counseling protocols will fascinate readers. While the very detailed information about moon missions may distract some true-crime fans, this is an engaging character study of a woman who seemed to have everything and lost it all."--Booklist

"Investigative reporter Moore, who covered the criminal case of Lisa Nowak for Florida Today, explains in her gripping debut how Nowak, a decorated astronaut and mother of three, could risk everything for love. After Nowak's boyfriend, fellow NASA astronaut Billy Oefelein, broke up with her in late 2006, saying he was in love with Air Force officer Colleen Shipman, Nowak concocted a bizarre scheme. On February 3, 2007, Nowak drove almost nonstop from her home in Houston, Tex., to the Orlando, Fla., airport, where she planned to confront her rival, who she knew from information she'd seen in Oefelein's apartment was due to arrive on a particular flight. Nowak was arrested after assaulting Shipman with pepper spray in the airport parking lot and claimed she only wanted to talk to Shipman, but when the police found weapons and trash bags in Nowak's car, they suspected she intended to kill the woman. Nowak, who pleaded guilty to third-degree felony burglary and misdemeanor assault, received one year probation and was drummed out of NASA. This is must reading for true crime fans."--Publishers Weekly