My Remarkable Journey: A Memoir

Written by Katherine Johnson, Joylette Hylick and Katherine Moore

Narrated by Robin Miles

The remarkable woman at heart of the smash New York Times bestseller and Oscar-winning film Hidden Figures tells the full story of her life, including what it took to work at NASA, help land the first man on the moon, and live through a century of turmoil and change.

In 2015, at the age of 97, Katherine Johnson became a global celebrity. President Barack Obama awarded her the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom—the nation’s highest civilian honor—for her pioneering work as a mathematician on NASA’s first flights into space. Her contributions to America’s space program were celebrated in a blockbuster and 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. The memoir captures the many facets of this unique woman: the curious “daddy’s girl,” pioneering professional, and sage elder. 

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 ultimately brings into focus a determined woman who navigated tough racial terrain with soft-spoken grace—and the unrelenting grit required to make history and inspire future generations. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: May 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063090729

Katherine Johnson

Katherine Johnson (1918–2020) was a former NASA mathematician whose work was critical to the success of many of their initiatives, including the Apollo program and the start of the Space Shuttle program. Throughout her long career she received numerous awards, including the nation’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from President Barack Obama.

Reviews for My Remarkable Journey

[Brittany · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

She is so inspiring yet extremely down to earth and humble. Great read.

[castlelass · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Autobiography of Katherine Johnson, of Hidden Figures fame. Born in 1918, she lived 101 years and truly led a remarkable life. This book tells of her early life in West Virginia, how her father ensured education for all his children, early influences in developing her gifts in mathematics, and how she ended up working in America’s space program. All this occurred in the face of widespread racial prejudice before civil rights legislation was passed. This book covers more than her life. She puts her experiences into the context of significant historical events of the 20th century. She overcame many barriers and endured multiple personal tragedies. We get a sense for her intelligence, humility, sense of humor, love for family, and perseverance. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. I found it inspirational.

[jenniferrobb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I first learned about Katherine Johnson in the movie and book "Hidden Figures". I've had this book on my TBR list and finally got to its place on the list. I learned quite a bit about sections of history that I didn't know before (NACA/NASA and the space race; the Civil Rights movement, etc.)I admire that there were people (men and women) who could do these computations by hand (prior to mechanical computers--I say that because I remember in "Hidden Figures" being confused when they called people computers because today that term is used more for machines). Numbers and math are not my forte so it's amazing to me that people can do that. I never thought much about the math that would be needed to get people to and from space until "Hidden Figures". I appreciated learning more about Katherine's formative years and family as well as her education, career track, and experiences.

[janarose1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Katherine Johnson shot to fame with the moving Hidden Figures. This is her story in her own words. Growing up in West Virginia she was taught to value education and sacrifice for family. A gifted student, she excelled at mathematics and found a job at NASA as a human computer. She worked on the calculations for many spaceflights and was universally trusted by the astronauts.Although this book was slow at times, Mrs. Johnson led a fascinating life. It was wonderful to read about her accomplishments in such an elite field. Overall, 4 out of 5 stars.

[yukon92 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a lovely book, that looked into the personal life of Katherine G. Johnson, who rose to fame through the "Hidden Figures" book and movie. She was an extremely intelligent, but humble person and this look at the world through her eyes was an absolute joy to listen to.