Wild Ride: A Memoir of I.V. Drips and Rocket Ships

by Hayley Arceneaux

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.

"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

In this boldly optimistic debut memoir, Hayley Arceneaux details how she overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to grab hold of a life greater than she'd ever imagined. With her signature upbeat messaging, Arceneaux recounts her odyssey, from her cancer diagnosis at age ten and the yearlong treatment that inspired her goal of working with pediatric cancer patients, to living through her father's terminal cancer diagnosis, to getting her lifelong dream job at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as a physician assistant. She was sure she'd finally attained the life she wanted, and then the amazing and unimaginable happened: She was invited to go to space as a St. Jude ambassador.

Throughout the book, Arceneaux encourages readers to fight for the life they want, saying, You have to hold on, because you don't know what great thing can come and change your life. Take the chance and you will feel, and learn, and grow, and become even more you. Following your dreams can take you to dreams you didn't know you had.

Arceneaux's uplifting story is the inspiration we all need today. She offers wisdom and lessons in 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.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Space, Audiobook, Biography, Biography Memoir, Autobiography

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 6, 2022

Reviews

[Olive Fellows (abookolive) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very simply written (she worked with a ghostwriter), but seriously inspiring! (3.5, rounded up to 4)

Click here to hear more of my thoughts on this book over on my Booktube channel, abookolive!

[haley ‧₊˚✩彡 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it insensitive to say that a memoir about a young cancer survivor was an absolute delight to read?

I hope not, because this book was nothing less than that. The book is a memoir that “orbits” (get it?) Hayley Arceneaux who was diagnosed at age ten. We follow Hayley’s story from her childhood diagnosis, to her treatment, to her fathers terminal diagnosis, to her dream job and dream adventure.

Throughout the book I was pleasantly surprised by the bold optimism and resilience Hayley had, and the messages she shared were beyond inspiring and uplifting. Her writing is completely captivating and polished — y’all I did not want to put this down!

The title and cover alone had me gripped from the beginning, and the writing and contents did not disappoint. You are along for the ride through every bit of her adventurous life, the good and the bad. If you want a fast paced, beautiful, gripping read I cannot recommend this book enough. It releases on September 6, 2022.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher, Convergent Books, for the ARC.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sorry but this should've been a magazine article.

[Celia Buell (semi hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

We were going to be able to talk live with St. Jude's patients and their families from space. I would be able to bring all of my patients into that moment with me. I thought about how much hope it would give those kids watching me as well as their parents. When I was in treatment and my mom met a healthy adult with a childhood cancer story, she would burst into tears. ... She was always very emotional after seeing a pediatric cancer survivor grow up to lead a healthy life. Especially because we didn't get to meet many.

And just like that, Hayley Arceneaux manages to capture my feelings while reading this in an entire sentence.

As a twenty-two year old cancer survivor diagnosed at the same age as Arceneaux, I cannot put into words how much I needed this. As I watched myself and my survivor friends grow into adults, I've started to think about the lack of childhood cancer literature that is positive and not about death. So when Wild Ride: A Memoir of I.V. Drips and Rocket Ships first came onto my radar last year, I knew I needed to have a copy. I asked for the book for Christmas and only just this week got around to reading it.

Wild Ride is absolutely the book I needed at this stage in life. Ten years younger than Arceneaux, I am at such a crossroads in my life right now. Reading this book reminded me of all the things I've been able to do both in spite of and because of my diagnosis. It's reminded me that my diagnosis and aftereffects are a part of my life, but that they are not my whole life.

I love how forward-looking Arceneaux is throughout all of her experiences. As a childhood cancer patient, she reminds herself that she's a survivor with a life ahead of her. As an adult, she focuses on being the first for both herself and her patients, and future childhood cancer survivors in general. I appreciate how driven she is by this thing that happened to her in the past, and how hard she works to make it her future as well.

I want to reiterate that I've been looking for the positive childhood cancer survivorship memoir for a long, long time. And for a long, long time, I don't think it existed. The first thing I did when I finished Wild Ride was to write an email to Arceneaux at her listed contact on Twitter to thank her for making this one of her many "first childhood cancer survivor to..." as well. I really hope she sees it.

[Read By Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this.

Inspiring to the max.

[Jordan Galloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

St Jude has always been my dream job and this book just made me love it even more - what a beautiful, beautiful story and absolutely crazy life Hayley has lived!!!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
I have admired Hayley Arceneaux since I first heard about her being picked to go to space so I was super excited to be approved to read an early review copy of her book. She is definitely an incredible person. I could relate a bit to her experience of cancer when she was 10 years old as I too had a life threatening illness at age 10. Although mine wasn't cancer, it forever changed my life and has done tremendous damage to my body. I loved reading about her experience as a child under St. Jude's care and how supportive most people were. I could relate to the child bullying after she went back to school.
She is the perfect person to be working at St. Jude as she has experienced what her patients are going through. She is genuinely a happy, positive, and nice woman.
The section of the book about her experience training for her trip to space was very fascinating. (I can also relate to her mountaineering of an easier time hiking up and a lot harder time hiking down as I have that difficulty too due to vision loss.)
I love this book and I'm so happy she wrote about her experiences.

[Kimberly (spacetoread) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arceneaux has had such a full, trying, and wonderful life. As a massive space fan who followed the Inspiration4 journey very closely (and entered more than once into the lottery for a seat), I especially enjoyed Part 2 of this book that described her mission and travel to space. Part 1 was heartbreaking, describing Hayley’s cancer diagnosis, treatment, and aftermath. However, despite the strength of the story being told, the writing itself was lacking in the first part. It felt a bit juvenile, but that may have fit in with Hayley’s diagnosis at such a young age. Overall, this was a quick and touching read. It was inspiring and stressed the dichotomy between Hayley’s younger years and her chance to fly in space. She doesn’t shy away from the hard parts of her journey, specifically in losing her father, the fear of being diagnosed with cancer as a child, needing her internal prosthesis replaced multiple times, and being rejected from her dream job. That made her journey relatable to anyone who has experienced loss or failure. Highly recommend!

TW: cancer, medical treatment, loss of a parent, loss of a parent to cancer, childhood cancer, vomiting, grief

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and inspiring story that would have benefited from more depth and better writing. My favorite parts were in the second half when she shared about preparing for space travel.

[Lexi Barron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hayley is a Louisiana-born lady, pediatric cancer survivor, and Physician Assistant at St. Jude who had the incredible opportunity to go to space. She attended the same PA program that I did and I remember hearing about this alumni going on a space mission while I was in the program so I really wanted to support her book.

The writing is incredibly simple and reads more like a blog post, but I was anticipating that. This was still such a fun read and so cool to learn about her experiences and all the training she went through prior to launch. I teared up at a few points… Hayley and her story are such a great inspiration!

[Falon Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

an inspiring story!! live laugh love St. Jude!!

[Urvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a journey indeed, and not just to space.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memoir focused on maintaining hope and happiness despite immense difficulties. I found this to be an easy-to-read and captivating overview of Hayley’s experience with childhood cancer, her journey to working for St. Jude, and her opportunity to go to space.

I was left with a greater appreciation for the patients and staff of St. Jude. It also heightened my interest in the work and training involved with SpaceX missions.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC.

[Vanya Prodanova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Не е типичното четиво, което бих избрала сама, но нали човек трябва да излиза извън комфортната си зона от време на време и четенето е най-безопасното място за такива експерименти... затова защо не? :Р

Аз не съм фен на мемоарите като цяло, но отделно тази книга има едно качество, което съм забелязала, че винаги предизвиква негативна физическа реакция в мен - твърде много позитивност до степен, че нагарча. Но, човек трябва да обогатява себе си, виждайки света и през очите на другите, а и историята на Хейли определено си струваше. Всъщност аудиокнигата беше приятна за слушане, тъй като тя я озвучава. Самата книга е написана с ghostwriter, но Хейли я чете, така че не беше зле.

Няма как да лъжа, независимо колко ми дойде горчиво цялата позитивност, която се лееше от всяка дума, историята й е вдъхновяваща и то много. Признавам, аз не бих могла да преживея, каквото тя е преживяла, и да живея така пълно живота си, така че заслужила е всички хубави неща, които й са се случили, че и още много в бъдещето. Предполагам светът има нужда от повече хора, които са така позитивни.

Историята й е определено уникална, а и си спомням смътно мисията Inspiration 4. Признавам, че не ми беше интересно тогава, но сега след като прочетох мемоара й, определено съм любопитна да видя документалния филм.

Наистина като изключим леещата се, докарваща те на моменти до диабет, позитивност, всъщност историята й е история на човек, който живее истински с ясна мисия и цел в живота. Не може да не си надъхан, просто не е възможно.

Но, имаше моменти, в които позитивността идваше твърде много. Може би, защото съм българка и знаейки какво е нашата реалност, когато става дума за заболявания и особено рак, ми е трудно да видя нещо подобно по-достоен и спокоен начин, както тя го представя. Знам, че зад позитивните думи има много грозота, защото болката и смъртта не са красиви и няма как всичко в този живот да е цветя и рози, а тя дори когато споменава неприятни моменти или преживявания, биват туширани и представени абстрактно. Вероятно това усещане на disconnection идва, че не са реално думите на авторката Хейли, а на писателя, който няма как да представи нещата истински. Може това да е причината, че всичко го усещах леко туширано и бледо.

Не знам, може и да съм просто лош човек, но определено липсваше нещо на книгата и визирам това отвъд захаросаността.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wild Ride:
A Memoir of I.V. Drips and Rocket Ships
author: Hayley Arceneaux, with Sandra Bark
narrator: Hayley Arceneaux
Listened on Audible
Genre: Memoir, Medical, Science

Audiobook Review: Hayley's exhilarating memoir is a truly uplifting book, one which actually elevated me to outer space. This young woman's life journey so far radiates courage, aspiration, determination, and compassion, words that I don't use lightly. I was completely mesmerized as she narrated her story in the audiobook.

As a child growing up in Louisiana, she faced bone cancer and was treated at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. I was so touched with Hayley's candor and honesty in sharing of all of her emotions and experiences as she was treated for and survived cancer. Later in life, she became educated in medicine and fulfilled her dream to work at the hospital. She has such a zest for life and a passion to help the children of St. Jude. In addition, travel, mission work, and adventure are integral parts of her life.

I don't want to spoil the book, so I highly suggest reading it and finding out how outer space fits into Hayley's life story. I'm so glad that she shared it, giving me renewed hope, faith, and inspiration for my own life.

You can learn more about Hayley and her adventures by watching the 2021 Netflix series, Countdown, Inspiration4 Mission to Space.

[Kaylee Gwyn (literarypengwyns) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a cancer survivor myself who also lost my dad to cancer, I related to so much of Hayley’s journey. I found myself highlighting major portions of the first half (the cancer portion) and constantly feeling incredibly seen.

The second half of the book focused on her journey into space and how the loss of her father and her cancer experience paved the way for her to dig deep and triumph in space.

My only complaint was how juvenile the writing felt. I enjoyed it, but this feels like it was written for a much younger target audience than adult. It didn’t make the book unenjoyable for me, but I think it could be hard for others to enjoy if they go into it thinking this is a more mature memoir.

*thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review*

[Liren · Rating 3 out of 5]

not very well written but sweet. i could tell she was clearly raised very sheltered and privileged when she described her first experiences meeting spanish speakers. in the first half, every other sentence is a moral takeaway told in a preachy fashion. it drove me insane. i wanted much more imagery and description rather than listing vague events filled with life lessons. i understand it was her childhood so she most likely doesn’t remember much but the life lessons were just excessive. this improved drastically about 60% through where she describes much of the training process + the mission in space. however, the life lessons remained.

there also was little to no dialogue which i think is what made me unable to really dig my heels into the story. she’s clearly a very kindhearted and brave woman but definitely not a prolific writer.

overall: if the entire book had been the way it was in the first half, i might’ve had to DNF. second half definitely saved it and was interesting but it wasn’t life changing.

[Kelsie Barnhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t think I’ve ever teared up while reading a book as much as I did with this one. It’s probably because I identified with Hayley’s experiences quite often. Not just the shared history with cancer but also the shared desire to experience as much of the world as possible. The stories of her family’s love of space, climbing mountains, fundraising for research, and persevering through moments of difficulty were all too familiar. I loved meeting this kindred spirit and I now feel like an honorary member of Hayley’s Ground Crew 💕

[Basic B's Guide · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll circle back with more thoughts soon but I’m so glad I listened to this memoir. Thank you PRH audio for the gifted audiobook.

[Diana]

Content was interesting but the writing style sounded like a 5th grader authored it.

[Mesi · Rating 5 out of 5]

She signed my copy of the book for me :))
Second time reading it and she still fascinates me.

[Emily Hipwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to give less than 3 stars to a pediatric cancer survivor who went to space and now treats kids with cancer. But I thought it was going to be more space-focused

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a PA Student and Tri Delta alumna, this was an amazing book about Hayley's journey through St. Jude, becoming a PA, and being selected as the first civilian medical officer to go to space! It was so inspirational and a great easy weekend read.

[Niki Lavender · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it was a good read overall, but I felt she just lightly touched on most things, would have loved to read more about the details of PA school, work, HOW she was selected for space, etc

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried like 4 times. Maybe it was the caffeine, or the traveling high but this book was so good and so quick.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hayley Arceneaux has written an inspiring account of her life and the three-day spaceflight she made last year aboard the SpaceX Dragon. She went through bone cancer as a child, which required her to receive a prosthetic implant in her leg. Yet after overcoming this frightening experience thanks to the work of the medical staff at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and tragically losing her father to cancer several years later, she grew up to become a St. Jude employee herself. She then received a call in January 2021 to join the crew of the Inspiration 4 space mission, which raised hundreds of millions of dollars for St. Jude. She holds the distinction of being the youngest American to ever fly in space and the first to ever do so with a prosthetic body part, during her Dragon flight as part of a crew of four in September of last year.

As a historian of astronaut training, I enjoyed reading the book partly for her description of the training and spaceflight experience. Even in an era of the heavily automated Dragon, many of the themes I wrote about in my book on NASA training remain staples of the training process to this day: centrifuge rides, integrated simulations with the crew and mission control, water survival exercises, etc. She describes this and her feelings upon seeing the Earth from an altitude of more than 300 miles high well. But I also enjoyed reading the book for the inspiration I know it will give readers. Hayley knows the value of learning about the world through travel, never giving up during the darkest times, and overcoming disappointment. I recommend the book to all readers who want to learn about a case study in these themes.

[Sharon Dene · Rating 5 out of 5]

One amazing story about this woman who changed things in life. I love how she dealt with her cancer and how she had a very positive outlook on everything. She was very driven to work at Saint Jude's and and she pursued her dream are you going to school and traveling and helping other people out. I think that's very very positive way to go about it even her family was very supportive of her as well. And I think by her going to space she found out more about herself. She took challenges on in her life and dealt with them head on. She found people at Saint Jude's who had some type of cancer and became friends with them especially the doctors and nurses. I think that's really important when you have a very bad disease like cancer is to say very focused and positive I think that's a really good way to recover. I liked when she had a dance party from there with her other The other Cancer patients and she went about it just like it would be like a school prom. I think everybody should read this book especially if you become diagnosed with cancer even as a child I think this would be a really positive outlook to show you how you can conquer the disease and be focused and be happy and live the moment every day. The title of the book says it on a wild ride it is a wild ride you never know what's going to happen but if you say focus and be happy things turn out OK.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't usually read memoirs, but this was short enough that I decided to give it a try. The most interesting part was the astronaut training, though Hayley's early life was also interesting enough to hold my attention.

I'm not sure what the target audience is, but in some ways this felt like a memoir written for younger readers. Details were scarce, prose was friendly and approachable, and Arceneaux never delved too deeply into her inner thoughts and feelings. In many ways, this read like a simple accounting of her life, and not a private recollection of who Arceneaux is as a person.

I recommend this for young women - middle-school age could certainly handle this, or even advanced elementary students - who are interested in space. I was one of those kids myself, and would have enjoyed this book greatly at that age. For adults, it's more of a quick diversion.

[Isabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the writing style was a bit more simple than I had expected and like, this still was such an interesting book to read. And the simple style also makes it easy to recommend to younger readers that want to learn more about inspiring figures.

As with any medical memoir, I of course hate that this happened to her but I’m glad I was able to read this and learn about her story. There were so many cool and interesting anecdotes in this book, and I immediately watched her show with my husband after I finished the book. They were really cool to experience so closely together.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay 1) this is a totally wild narrative and incredibly quick read and 2) it has BEEN A MINUTE since I have read a book that makes me think "damn I really need to have a better attitude." So now that I've finished it I need to figure that out. Man.