Wild Ride: A Memoir of I.V. Drips and Rocket Ships Spiral-Bound | September 6, 2022

Hayley Arceneaux

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The youngest American to ever orbit the earth—cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux—shows us all that when we face our fears with hope and faith, extraordinary things can happen.

“It may be hard to believe while I’m gravity-bound on my bedroom floor, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my time on Earth, it’s that as long as you keep saying yes, everything is possible,” says author Hayley Arceneaux.
 
Arceneaux's power comes from her faith and her ability to look forward in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Before she became the youngest American to go to space, she had packed a lifetime’s worth of experience into her twenty-nine years. She went to Spain to practice her Spanish and worked medical mission trips in Nicaragua and Peru, checking off five continents on her travel list before she was invited on the ultimate ride, farther than she ever dreamed she'd go. And she's done it all with a titanium prosthesis in her leg—courtesy of treatment for bone cancer at St. Jude nearly twenty years ago.
 
In this riveting and deeply personal memoir, with heart and humor, Arceneaux shares the details of her Wild Ride, from the cancer experience that inspired her lifelong dream of working with childhood cancer patients to the exhilaration of being asked to join the first civilian space flight as a representative of St. Jude. From training to launch to splashdown, in never-before-told stories, Arceneaux details what it was like to climb Mt. Rainier in the snow, train in a fighter jet, battle G-forces, fly in a Dragon to space, and drink her morning cold brew while circling the globe once every ninety minutes.
 
Arceneaux’s uplifting story is the inspiration we all need today. She offers wisdom and courage to anyone fighting against the odds. And through it all, she reveals how resilience and faith can help us grab hold of the life we’ve always wanted and live it to the fullest.
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Original Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 208 pages
ISBN-10: 0593443845
Item Weight: 0.8 lbs
Dimensions: 5.9 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
“Hayley brings the same optimism and determination to launching into space that she did overcoming childhood cancer. Her passion for life and adventure in the face of obstacles is both moving and inspiring. If challenges loom between you and your dreams, read this book and take notes!”—Cady Coleman, retired NASA astronaut

“In her gripping and inspiring first memoir, Hayley Arceneaux exhibits just the right stuff that made her an overnight national darling and a shining role model for anyone who has faced adversity: bravery, resilience, optimism, faith, humor, honor—and enough heart to power a fleet of spaceships to the cosmos and beyond. Wild Ride is a potent reminder to all of us that nothing on earth—or in the heavens, for that matter—can keep us from becoming commanders of our own destiny.”—Marlo Thomas, actor, author, and national outreach director for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Wild Ride is an inspiring story of hope and inspiration that demonstrates that kids with cancer can go on to achieve great things. It’s a shining example for anyone looking for the motivation to keep moving forward despite their own personal challenges. Hayley Arceneaux’s vivid narratives made me feel like I was back in space. Great job, astronaut!”—Captain Scott Kelly, U.S. Navy (retired), former NASA astronaut

Hayley Arceneaux is a St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital physician assistant, a career she committed to at age ten, after surviving pediatric bone cancer. At age twenty-nine, she joined Inspiration4, the first all civilian orbital space mission, which launched on September 15, 2021, and successfully water-landed three days later, making her the youngest American to orbit the earth, the first pediatric cancer survivor in space, and the first astronaut with a prosthetic body part.

Author Residence: Memphis, TN