“On clear moonlit nights we sometimes step outside and howl at the moon together. It is cathartic, primal and a really good laugh. I am not sure what our neighbours think about it, though.” That’s Maggie Aderin, describing how she and her daughter share their love of the moon in her memoir, Starchild. Aderin is one of the UK’s top science popularisers (a co-host of the BBC’s astronomy programme, The Sky at Night) and has groundbreaking work on the James Webb and Gemini telescopes under her belt. Oh, and there’s a “Dame” in front of her name in recognition of her work – and a Barbie doll of her made by Mattel. Starchild is the story of her complicated early life (custody battles, 13 schools in 12 years, dyslexia), and how she came to set her ambitions on star science, only to end up the only Black woman on her physics course at Imperial College London. From the sneakiest of sneak peeks, it looks like a thoroughly engaging read – and the kind of honest memoir you wish more scientists would turn out.