Taking Flight

by Sarah Solmonson

For the next thirty minutes I was untouchable in my joy. The sky was clear, the sun already tempting me to spend another day at the beach. I had my best friend by my side and a boy who loved me. It was about this same time that you were inching down the runway, lifting off the ground for one of the hundreds of take-offs the FAA required your experimental aircraft to make before you could expand the distance you were permitted to fly. It was about this time that everything changed... David Norton lived for two things: family and flying. With the help of his wife, Jan (self appointed parts manager) and teenage daughter, Sarah (lifelong co-pilot), David worked for six years building his very own airplane in his basement workshop. His dream became a reality in the spring of 2000 when N256DN took its first flight. Three months later, David was performing a routine take-off when a fluke change in wind brought his plane down. David was killed instantly. Jan and Sarah were thrown into a whirlwind of grief and depression that nearly destroyed the family David so dearly loved. I was unhealthy in every way a person could be, intensified by the fact that I kept pretending to be fine. Or doing my best to pretend, to fit into who I was before. I cared about nothing but went through the daily motions of school, homework, and hanging out with friends, as though these were still the most important parts of my life. I felt like I was outside of my own body most of the time, watching from the sidelines as Sarah smiled. Now a grown woman with a family and dreams of her own, Sarah looks back on the depression and darkness of teenage grief and the unthinkable transformation of her family following her father's death. Taking Flight is a journey through loss, a story of love, and a lesson in following your dreams - no matter what the cost. Life is beautiful and brief - get your copy of Taking Flight today and find the inspiration to touch the skies of your dreams.

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 8, 2012

Reviews

[Ionia · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Taking Flight" by Sarah Solmonson is tragic, beautiful and real. There are truly no words to really explain the magnitude of emotions this book can cause the reader to experience, but I will do my best.
What do you do when the last words you say to someone you love end up being literally and honestly the last words you ever get to say to them? How many times do you go back in memory and visit the moments you shared and wish you could make them a physical reality again? The answer, all the time. Always.

You always wish it could be that one special day or that single moment, or that fate had not interfered in your dreams and hopes for the future. Some people are lucky enough to have a gift and Sarah Solmonson is one of those people. She is a gifted author who has written a touching and compelling memoir dedicated to the memory of a father she loved dearly and lost early.

Through "Taking Flight" Sarah has managed to show the reality of loss, the long and painful road to healing, and the willpower of the human heart to not only survive, but to repair itself and build new dreams and hopes. This is a courageous debut and one that will linger in your memory after you have read the final page.

I have read a lot of memoirs, and as you would expect, many of them deal with very personal facets of a person's life. This book is no exception, but the way it is written is never depressing. It is sad at times as one would expect based on the subject matter, but this book is much more about moving forward than it ever is living in the past. Sarah's voice throughout this memoir was amazingly accurate when describing the thoughts of a teenager, the worries of an adult and the way we all tend to become children again at some point in our life, when tragedy does strike.

This is intelligent, introspective in places and overall one of the most beautiful and heartfelt books I have ever had the pleasure to read. If you are healing from a loss, or if you are simply searching for a well written book with real emotion, you should consider picking up a copy. In a word, amazing.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah Solmonson tells her story of growing up as the only human child in the Norton family. Her father, David Norton, was obsessed with airplanes and flying. He spent six years building an airplane from scratch. Unfortunately on July 1, 2000, David’s regular take off took a tragic turn as the wind disappeared, causing his beloved plane to crash. David Norton didn’t survive and this book is the story of how his wife and daughter fought to survive their horrific loss.



In her telling memoir, Sarah Solmonson demonstrates an incredible talent for writing. She rotates chapters between a current conversation with her father and the memories she had growing up. This rotation provides the perfect balance between the heart wrenching emotions and the wholesome funny memories of the past. Readers will feel as though Sarah did not use any ink to write this book, but instead used her own blood from her heart. Each sentence, each statement and each memory are written with such honesty and such affection that readers will feel like they are a member of this family. Incredibly powerful and mesmerizing.


Notes:
The author provided me a copy of this book for me to review. To learn more about this book and the author, please visit her website: http://sarahsolmonson.com

This review was originally posted on my website: http://ariesgrlreview.com

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

It wasn't until the very end of the book that I realized this book is a memoir. That'll teach me to pay attention to book descriptions!

What I can say about this book is that it's real. Her feelings and memories of her father's passing are real. She does an excellent job of conveying what it's like to lose someone unexpectedly and the aftermath that follows. It brought back memories of my mother's passing. And my brother's. And friends parents.

This isn't the best written book. It's not the happiest. But you will get a glimpse into what it's like to unexpectedly lose someone at a young age. Perhaps you'll learn how you can help someone who's coping with grief. And you'll be reminded that we really don't know what's going on in people's minds when you're talking to them. There are so many things hidden behind their day to day life that you may never be able to breach.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short, engaging real-life story about a father's death. It shows teenage angst and how grief plays out during that time in life.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book! Part monologue to the author's father, part memoir, all a wonderful tribute to her father.

Highly recommend this book!