Dear future moon-dwellers, aliens and anthropologists,

I’m going to the moon! When I heard that I had been chosen to be one of Susan Kaye Quinn’s Writers on the Moon, I knew that whatever else happens in 2021, this was going to be a good year for me.

It was easy to choose which book to send. My short story, Nana, won the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Short Story in 2019. It’s about a woman who believes she is the last person alive in a post-apocalyptic world. 

But we can send whatever else we want along with the book of our choice, up to a limit of 20MB. 

Trying to choose what to include, sifting through memories and photos, has given me the opportunity to reflect on my life to date. 

I wanted to send a Cabinet of Curiosities to the moon, with pictures of people and things that were important to me. I was going to have one section for Friends, Family & Foxes. Another for Adventures and Achievements. Another for Stuff. All the weird quirky things I’ve come across that fascinate me, that might fascinate future moon-dwellers or aliens.

But I soon realized that I didn’t care about the things at all. Much as I love all the trinkets and knickknacks I have collected over the years in my travels, I don’t need to send photos of them to the moon. And I don’t even care too much about all the places I’ve visited. They were exquisite, breath-taking, beautiful… but, in the end, they were only places. 

It’s the people who are important to me. 

Of course, I’m proud of all that I have achieved over the years. When I was a child, I dreamed of having a book published. That dream came true with my first book, Alison Wonderland. 

And as well as having books published, and plays produced, I have done some quirky, fun things, for example making short films for YouTube, with my daughter Lauren and our dog Jessie, in which we were dream detectives. And then there was the short-lived, online Smiths’ Bureau of Investigations—again with Lauren—in which we investigated mysteries, anomalies and wonders. And I had almost forgotten that there was a podcast, where I pretended I was writing a mystery series about an amateur sleuth with a dog called Jessie. It proved so popular I panicked and started writing the books, which became the Emily Castles Mysteries.

Although I’m proud of all that I have achieved creatively (books published, plays produced, etc.) those achievements have only provided the ticket to the moon. It’s friends, family (and Jessie the dog and McKenzie the cat, and the wild foxes who visit my garden) who have provided all the fun and the meaning in my life. 

If there is one thing that I have learned in this pandemic, which is still ongoing, it’s that we need to spend time in the company of others to make life worthwhile. Beforehand, I would have said that I am a sociable introvert and that I am happy on my own. But that’s not true. We all need to spend time with other people. Even looking through my old photos, and reflecting on my life, I can see that it was never true. What is the point of anything, really, unless you can share it with someone? 

Even writing, such a solitary experience, is ultimately about sharing something with others. You want to share your world view. You want to make people laugh. You want to make them cry. Or I do, anyway. 

So as I have this great opportunity to go to the moon, I wanted to share it with everyone who had ever meant anything to me. All the people who have ever been kind to me, or made me laugh, or helped me learn something. All the generous, lovely friends I have made over the years. 

I have made a collage of around 1,000 photos to send to the moon, with the categories still broadly Friends, Family, Adventures & Achievements, although ultimately everything whirls together into one big, beautiful picture. It’s a Beautiful Whirl, rather than a Cabinet of Curiosities. 

There is my daughter, her dad, her boyfriend, our families, my writer friends, my London friends, my Hong Kong friends, my friends all over the world and my neighbours who live nearby who have made the recent lockdowns bearable. And the cat, the dog and the foxes. And some guest dogs. Because isn’t everyone’s life improved by the appearance of guest dogs?

As well as the collage, I will be sending a few individual photos of the people (and furry creatures) I have loved most in my life. There is a picture of the scan of a new baby, due in a few weeks, because news of a new life is auspicious, and sending her picture to the moon ahead of her birth seems like a good way to start a good life. 

There is also a list of my books, a recording of me telling my short story, Aubergine, a sonnet I wrote called Neon, and a poem written by my friend F. Mehrban called Remember Me, about her brother Feridoon who died in Evin prison. I helped her translate it and get it published. So I would like the poem to go and live on the moon now in peace.

Oh, and I made a promise to the moon for the future. I will keep the promise a secret between the moon and me. Although I have been alive for quite a long time, it’s possible that I’m only half-way through. There is still so much to do. But now I have made the promise, I will try to keep it.

With love,

Helen Smith

helensmithbooks.com