Mary McCorvey’s story begins in Florida and stretches all the way to the Moon—almost. A former soldier, radio host, television producer, playwright, and Gulf War veteran, Mary’s life has been defined by reinvention, resilience, and one haunting question: What do you do…?
At 17, she was implicated in a murder. At 35, she suffered seizures and cognitive decline from Gulf War Syndrome after exposure to sarin gas. Later diagnosed with terminal pulmonary fibrosis, she was told she had two years to live. She survived that—and more.
After 27 years of marriage, her husband’s betrayal shattered her ideal of love. And yet, she forgave him—and herself—for the sins of their youth. She built, dreamed, and led again, even launching a plan to send students’ work to the Moon before the pandemic derailed it all.
Then came the final twist: a locked box, unopened for 35 years, filled with love letters and photographs from the man she’d never forgotten. Her memoir is a raw, often funny, and deeply human account of surviving heartbreak, chasing big dreams, and finding meaning—on her own terms.
Mary lives and writes in Pennsylvania, with a new adventure always on the horizon. For all the latest, subscribe to Mary’s Substack newsletter.