Rebecca Elson

That specific phrasing perfectly sets up what is arguably the most emotional and poignant book on this entire list.

Rebecca Elson.

Yes, because if Calvino used humor to make the universe feel tender, Rebecca Elson used pure heartbreaking beauty.

We need to spend some time on her 2001 book, A Responsibility to Awe.

This is a profoundly moving inclusion by Sutter.

Rebecca Elson was a rarity.

She was both a brilliant practicing astronomer who contributed to early research with the Hubble Space Telescope, and she was a highly gifted poet.

But her story's tragic.