u/Medium_Ideal9069

I watched the show when I was little, and it was one of the reasons I pursued Physics. I bought this book a couple of years ago, and it sat on my bookshelf. I thought of it as a collectible, since I'd watched both versions of the show, the one with Carl Sagan and the one with Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

But while rummaging through old books, I decided to read it to refresh my memory.

And boy, was it as wonderful as the first time I watched the show. It was even more thrilling, in fact. I cried a little when I remembered that this was the reason I was doing what I am doing in life.

And rereading the line about the 'pale blue dot' still gave me goosebumps, just like it did when I was little.

The way Sir Carl Sagan went through everything that culminated in making us what we are today felt like a dear teacher of mine was sitting there, narrating the mysteries of the cosmos to me.

This was definitely the best book I have ever read in a scientific context.

It might sound weird, but I literally wept when the last chapters came, and I shuddered in delight whenever I remembered snippets from the show I watched when I was little.

The viewpoint of the author and Adler regarding our meaning in life is very 'jarring' for a young adult like me, but it does contain wisdom and undeniable truth. The two main points I've taken from this book are the 'Courage to be happy', even at the expense of not being able to please everyone I meet, and the 'Courage to be disliked', which ultimately means that when we live 'happily', some people in the lively crowd may not like it or even hate it openly. We have to be willing to be hated for our own happiness. Although the ideas in the book are difficult to apply in real life without some contemplation, I believe that this book has resonated with me. All in all, this book was certainly an eye-opener for how we view the world and how our relationships with others work, whether they are friends, lovers, or community members.