I just read the book. As honest as I can be, this might be the second time that I finished reading a whole English book (I think). The first one was ‘The Phantom of The Opera’ back when I was in form 2. However, it was adjusted version so it can be understood by the students at that level. For the JTS (Journey To Space), I think I really enjoyed it as it was made by a Malaysian and the level just fit with me. Only have to refer to a dictionary 77 times for 77 words. With the intention to fully understands the meaning of every word without making assumptions that I always used to. Finally I achieved that.
After all, the rate of speed for me to finish the book was also exceptional. Only need less than 12 hours to read from cover to cover for a more than 200 pages book. With the original intention was to find some material for English reading and eventually satisfied with the content make me very pleased. Overall, it is a nice book for those who have a big ambition waits ahead of them.
Generally it is a diary of a person. As you can see it is a memoir. However it is a memoir of a history maker from our proud nation, Malaysia. As he wanted to be called as Angkasawan already made me proud as a Malaysian. It is fascinating to learn about his adventures, hurdles, obstacles, challenges and many more for him to reach his dream. For most of us, there might be slim possibilities for other 27 million populations in this country to be able to follow his footsteps. I believe the sentence only for a relief as I don’t want to be a dream killer. However, you don’t have to dream about to be Angkasawan only, as there are a lot of things that you might want to achieve but the time does not come yet.
As I read the book, page by page, I’ve seen Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor (Mr SMS) as an inquisitive, enthusiastic, persistent and very determined person. He gone through his path with faith that he will succeed at the end. Finally he made it. However as simple as ‘he made it’ was written, it is not as easy that one can imagine. The complexity of the process, the anxiety that aroused, the hard efforts on the trainings and many more made him qualify for this huge job. He also had nice experiences throughout the programs that he enrolled. I think, it can be dramatic for his adventure to make into a moving picture or movie. I will volunteer to make one, someday maybe.
No, I didn’t say it is fascinating to have dramatic story, but somehow that is a unique of life that determined by fate. The event that made Mr SMS’s brother went into coma was disappointing. Tragically, the accident happens two days before he launched back to the Earth. Even after his arrival, he was not being mentioned about that accident. Of course for some reason it is better to kept it as a secret to wait for the right time. At last, after two days on earth, he was informed about the state of his brother.
Well, if you can understand that someone close to you in a coma, you will feel unease and you want to be right next to him/her. Unfortunately, he has to wait for the quarantine period to end. But everything were too late, he cannot see his brother for the last time. His brother passed away a day before he could board in a flight to come back to Malaysia. The saddest moment was, his brother was ongoing to finish a book entitled ‘Reaching For The Stars’ dedicated to Mr SMS. I couldn’t imagine what was feeling of Mr SMS. Here I wanted to quote from his book,
“I found a new lease of life in space and lost a life upon my return. I was looking down on Earth wondering what he (his brother) was doing and now I am looking up to the stars, wondering what he is ‘doing’”.
“INTELLIGENCE WITHOUT GENIUS, KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT INFLEXIBILITY, A HIGH DEGREE OF SKILL WITHOUT OVERTRAINING, FEAR BUT NOT COWARDICE, BRAVERY WITHOUT FOOLHARDINESS, SELF-CONFIDENCE WITHOUT EGOTISM, PHYSICAL FITNESS WITHOUT BEING MUSCLE BOUND, PREFERENCE FOR PARTICIPATORY OVER SPECTATOR SPORTS, FRANKNESS WITHOUT BLABBER MOUTHING, ENJOYING LIFE WITHOUT EXCESS HUMOR WITH DISPROPORTION AND FAST REFLEXES OVER PANIC” – Dr Robert Voas -
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