Book Nook - You Don’t Look Like an Astronaut’s Wife! A Memoir of Improbability, Impossibility, and Still Making it All Happen

Told with humor and a sense of awe, You Don’t Look Like an Astronaut’s Wife! from Anita Mitchell shares her improbable journey from small-town beginnings in Medina, Ohio, through her life in Florida with then-husband and sixth man to walk on the moon Astronaut Edgar Mitchell — set against the thrilling and historic backdrop of the U.S. Space Program.

“Now we have Elon Musk and going to Mars, which is something Wernher von Braun would talk about every time he visited and stayed at our home,” Mitchell commented. “Today, it almost feels like the Apollo days again, only bigger. It's an exciting time to be alive and to witness it all.”

You Don’t Look Like an Astronaut’s Wife! is filled with fascinating behind-the-scenes escapades of some of the most revered people of the day, from astronauts to actors, politicians to metaphysical gurus. Some of Mitchell’s stories will leave readers shocked, at times touched, and always wondering what she will talk about next. Through it all, she remained grounded, thanks to a strong family foundation, lifelong faith and her irrepressible love of life.

“I also wanted to give deference to the original seven early astronaut wives,” Mitchell said. “They were amazing, especially with overnight notoriety. The national news media were on their front lawns while they were trying to get their little ones off to school and provide some normalcy in their family lives. They did that with style and grace, and without a road map to go by.”

You Don’t Look Like an Astronaut’s Wife! poignantly transports readers to a magical era in the history of humanity, when anything seemed possible, and when the world first saw the Earth from space — an awe-inspiring moment that transcended geographical, cultural and political boundaries.

“It pulled the world together in a way nothing else ever has,” Mitchell recalled. “They sent back that incredible picture taken from the moon of Earth. We all saw our planet in a new way. No matter who you were, when you saw that tiny blue and white marble, knowing it was our home, it was humbling, and it united us.”

You Don’t Look Like an Astronaut’s Wife! is not just Mitchell’s journey, but the journey of a proud nation, capturing the wonder of venturing into the cosmos — just in time for what promises to be a remarkable era of space exploration.

“I married a guy who went to the moon,” Mitchell added. “I stayed on Earth, but it was an amazing journey for me, nonetheless.”

You Don’t Look Like an Astronaut’s Wife! A Memoir of Improbability, Impossibility, and Still Making it All Happen

Release Date: February 2025

About the Author

Anita Mitchell was born in Medina, Ohio, studied at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and moved to Florida in 1964. While working for the Walt Disney Company in Orlando, Mitchell met and married aviator and Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon. She ran for the Florida House in 1978.

In 1979, she opened Anita Mitchell Associates, a public relations, advertising and government relations firm that grew into The Mitchell Group, which she still helms.

In November 2013, she was elected Chairman of The Republican Party of Palm Beach County. In 2017, she became the VP of External Affairs & Business Development at Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, now Margaritaville at Sea. She currently lives in West Palm Beach, Florida, with her husband Noel, their cat Pickles, and Maltipoo, Daisy.

For more information, please visit www.AnitaKMitchell.com.