I wrote Loneliness mostly at night, beneath a sky full of stars. I have spent a lot of time thinking about what could be up there, feeling certain that we couldn’t truly be alone, wondering how long it would take for us to be overwhelmed by the need to find out.

I don't live in outer space, but I've made a life in faraway countries. Like my characters, I know how it feels to leave everything behind and journey into the unknown, to be set adrift in a place where nothing is familiar, to feel simultaneously horribly trapped and dangerously free.

This story is for all those people who know what it is to be determined, even when you’re feeling lost. It’s also for my amazing daughters, and for all of us who have discovered that love makes you capable of extraordinary courage.