My Remarkable Journey

The woman at the heart of the smash hit Hidden Figures tells the full story of her life and her NASA career: “Wonderful.” —Library Journal (starred review)

In 2015, at age 97, Katherine Johnson became a global celebrity. President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the nation’s highest civilian honor—for her pioneering work as a mathematician during NASA’s first flights into space. Her contributions to America’s space program were celebrated in a blockbuster Academy Award-nominated movie.

In this memoir, Katherine shares her personal journey from child prodigy in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia to NASA human computer. In her life after retirement, she served as a beacon of light for her family and community alike. Her story is centered around the basic tenets of her life—no one is better than you, education is paramount, and asking questions can break barriers.

This multidimensional portrait is also the record of a century of racial history that reveals the influential role educators at segregated schools and Historically Black Colleges and Universities played in nurturing the dreams of trailblazers like Katherine. The author pays homage to her mentor—the African American professor who inspired her to become a research mathematician despite having his own dream crushed by racism. 

Infused with the uplifting wisdom of a woman who handled great fame with genuine humility and great tragedy with enduring hope, My Remarkable Journey brings into focus a determined woman who navigated tough terrain with soft-spoken grace—and the unrelenting grit required to make history and inspire future generations.

“Katherine Johnson’s personal story never gets old, and never fails to inspire.” —Margot Lee Shetterly, New York Times-bestselling author of Hidden Figures 

“Truly a lovely read . . . an important addition to every bookshelf devoted to great Americans.” —Booklist (starred review)