Ground Control - Paperback

by K. a. Hough (Author)

There is no going back.

Fifteen years ago, Sarah was a biology student with a lot of potential. Since then, she's been drifting from city to city, leaving behind friends and family to follow her ambitious husband as he rises to the top of his biology field.

"We're going to Mars."

As she packs up to follow him again, this time on a one-way mission to join the growing colony on Mars, Sarah struggles with the choices she has made in her past and knows she must decide what she really wants. When an unknown threat jeopardizes not only the people aboard the shuttle, but the very viability of the Mars program, will Sarah find the strength to finally be true to herself, or will she lose everything ... again?

This debut novel by KA Hough explores what it means for a family to completely uproot itself in the name of chasing a dream. But whereas most families must travel across the country, or at worst, across the globe, this family is going where there is no easy or realistic return -- they are among the first settlers of Mars. What does it mean for a woman to follow her husband on a journey in support of his dreams? What does it mean for them to uproot their children from the only lives they've known for a dangerous mission? K A Hough is as concerned with these questions as she is exploring the scientific possibilities of a manned mission to Mars. In this novel, she looks not just at the human cost of such an endeavor, but at the family and the spousal cost.