The Father, Son, and Holy Shuttle

Growing Up an Astronaut's Kid in the Glorious 80s

By: Patrick Mullane

Narrated by: Luke Covert

The families behind America’s astronaut heroes are just like yours...sort of. This is the hilarious true story of one of those families.

While many children grow up wanting to become an astronaut, Patrick Mullane grew up the child of one. In his memoir, The Father, Son, and Holy Shuttle: Growing Up an Astronaut’s Kid in the Glorious 80s, Mullane shares his hilarious coming-of-age story. It’s a story about his quirky and death-defying father, a mother with a secret, and a cast of characters from his extended family who showed their love for him in often bizarre ways.

In 1978, when Mullane was 10 years old, his father, Mike Mullane, was chosen in the very first group of space shuttle astronauts - a group that included Sally Ride (America’s first woman in space) and four members of the Challenger crew who were lost when it tore apart in 1986. In The Father, Son, and Holy Shuttle, Mullane tells of how his father’s profession defined him, first as a young “military brat” hopping from base to base with his parents and two sisters, and then as a pimple-faced, unknown nerd in a large Houston high school where he often felt like one of the pathetic underdog characters in a John Hughes film of the day. The Father, Son, and Holy Shuttle is about Mullane’s hilarious efforts to be a hero in his own world as he believed his father and his pop culture icons - Indiana Jones, Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker - were in theirs.

The Father, Son, and Holy Shuttle is an uplifting story at a time when the world desperately needs one. With each part you listen to, you will hope that there is just one more minute, one more section, one more gut-busting laugh waiting. And you will come to appreciate in a way never before possible the sacrifices “astro families” make for their astronaut loved one, for their nation, and for each other.

©2020 Patrick Mullane (P)2021 Patrick Mullane

Hilarious and insightful look into an unheralded side of space exploration

For a child of the 80s, this is an especially insightful peek behind the curtains of one of the biggest storylines of the decade, told from the viewpoint of an astronaut’s son. The story is eminently relatable, occasionally poignant, often laugh out loud hilarious, but always interesting. The narrator sounds the part. With the exception of a few regional mispronunciations, his delivery helps the listener immerse themselves in the mindset of a teenage boy in the dynamic 80s. Great listen all around!

Leadership, Love, Curiosity, Respect and Bravery

What a fabulous read! This book is about life and belonging to something larger than yourself. It confirmed my admiration for the shuttle, the space program and all those involved. It also had me reflecting on my own childhood and the childhood of my current teenaged kids. I laughed, I cried and I loved the pertinent foot notes. Thank you for this book and shuttle narrative...holy shuttle it is and always will be. I can not wait to share this book with my kids! THANK YOU!

Excellence story of the trials and fears of a kid of an astronaut, very relatable

This is a great story that men can relate to.
I thought I’d read this after reading riding rockets, it was a good story

Awesome Book!

This is one of my favorite books and I was glad to finally find it on Audible. If you want a funny story about growing up when your dad works for NASA in the 1980’s, this is the book. I’ve read lots of books by Astronauts and their families but this is among the best.

His Parents son, that’s for sure.

I’ve listened to Mike Mullane’s book many times. I enjoyed the hell out of Ridding Rockets, and I enjoyed the hell out of this book. The father and son do not write exactly the same way but there styles are vary similar and the two definitely share the family flair for language. As has been said about others, is true also for members of the Mullane family, “they work in profanity the way others work in oils”.

A hilarious chip of the old block.

Mike Mullane's Riding Rockets is my favorite book about space: funny, moving, and sometimes awkwardly honest. Patrick Mullane's book is every bit as charming as father's, and provides a fascinating sequel of sorts, with a view from the ground as his father made history. Pat is a funny and fascinating character in his own right, and though he has inherited his dad's flair for, uh, blunt and uncensored storytelling, ultimately, he paints a picture of a deeply devoted family, managing to find a little normalcy through extraordinary times. Highly recommended.

An 80s Space Coming of Age Masterpiece

I found this book because of Riding Rockets. That book offers a shockingly frank and intimately honest view into the lives of the shuttle astronauts. Patrick Mullane offers the same frankness and intimate honesty in his memoir about teenage life in the United States. Although my father was not an astronaut, I still identified with so much of this book.

I found myself regularly laughing out loud and also cringing with embarrassment. And I shed a few tears at the end when he sweetly and delicately talked about one of his mother's tragedies.

Ultimately this is a book about family love and the love described your end is both inspirational and aspirational. I'm grateful that it exists and that I had a chance to listen to it. Thank you, Mr. Mullane!

Great personal story! Entertaining and funny.

I really enjoyed this book Pat. You have written it very well and brought the reader along for the incredible ride your childhood has been. Your sense of humour and exuberance for life is mirrored from your fathers book, Riding Rockets, there is definitely a strong family resemblance. Also a fantastic read!!

Great perspective of an astronaut’s family

This book made me laugh out loud from his cheerleader stories to the adventures with his grandparents and his Dad. I felt like the book started off a little slow but it was worth the wait. Really enjoyed his perspective as the child of an astronaut and the sweet story about his connection with his parents.