Chris Hadfield's children's book brought to life on stage

Canada’s famous space man, Chris Hadfield, is bringing his story to the stage.

Hadfield’s bestselling children’s book The Darkest Dark, an autographical story about a nine-year-old boy who dreams of becoming an astronaut during the summer of the Apollo 11 moon landing, has been adapted by Young People’s Theatre, a Canadian theatre company in Toronto that produces plays for children.

The performance features a younger version of Hadfield conquering his fear of the dark, an effort to “help kids understand that everybody’s afraid,” the retired astronaut told CTV National News.

“It’s what you do with your fear that is going to determine your path of your whole life,” he added.

Hadfield, who was also an engineer and fighter pilot, seems to live by his own advice, carrying out a career as a musician and writer. As the first Canadian to officially to conduct a spacewalk, Hadfield has been aboard Space Shuttle missions along with serving as the commander of the International Space Station.

To Hadfield, his children’s book stands as a metaphor for what led him to “actually put on a space suit, open up the hatch and pull myself into the universe alone.”

Hadfield says the production by Young People Theatre has brought his ideas to life.

“It’s like if you made a sketch of a flower and suddenly it was a living flower in front of you,” he said.

In a reaction video released by Young People Theatre, Hadfield said: “It was wonderful. It was the ideas of the book brought way beyond life.”

Hadfield hopes this story inspires kids to not let fear hold them back from reaching for what they aspire toward.

“It’s out there in that darkness,” he said. “Waiting for us to discover and understand it. “