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Flying Free: My Victory over Fear to Become the First Latina Pilot on the US Aerobatic Team
The daughter of a Chilean father and a Filipina mother, Cecilia Rodriguez Aragon grew up as a shy, timid child in a small midwestern town during the 1960s. Targeted by school bullies and dismissed by many of her teachers, she worried that people would find out the truth: that she was INTF. Incompetent. Nerd. Terrified. Failure. This feeling stayed with her well into her twenties when she was told that girls can t do science or women just don t know how to handle machines.
Yet in the span of just six years, Cecilia became the first Latina pilot to secure a place on the United States Unlimited Aerobatic Team and earn the right to represent her country at the Olympics of aviation, the World Aerobatic Championships. How did she do it?
Using mathematical techniques to overcome her fear, Cecilia performed at air shows in front of millions of people. She jumped out of airplanes and taught others how to fly. She learned how to fund-raise and earn money to compete at the world level. She worked as a test pilot and contributed to the design of experimental airplanes, crafting curves of metal and fabric that shaped air to lift inanimate objects high above the earth. And best of all, she surprised everyone by overcoming the prejudices people held about her because of her race and her gender.
Flying Free is the story of how Cecilia Aragon broke free from expectations and rose above her own limits by combining math and logic with her passion for flying in unexpected ways. You don t have to be a math whiz or a science geek to learn from her story. You just have to want to soar.
Yet in the span of just six years, Cecilia became the first Latina pilot to secure a place on the United States Unlimited Aerobatic Team and earn the right to represent her country at the Olympics of aviation, the World Aerobatic Championships. How did she do it?
Using mathematical techniques to overcome her fear, Cecilia performed at air shows in front of millions of people. She jumped out of airplanes and taught others how to fly. She learned how to fund-raise and earn money to compete at the world level. She worked as a test pilot and contributed to the design of experimental airplanes, crafting curves of metal and fabric that shaped air to lift inanimate objects high above the earth. And best of all, she surprised everyone by overcoming the prejudices people held about her because of her race and her gender.
Flying Free is the story of how Cecilia Aragon broke free from expectations and rose above her own limits by combining math and logic with her passion for flying in unexpected ways. You don t have to be a math whiz or a science geek to learn from her story. You just have to want to soar.
300 pages, Hardcover
First published September 22, 2020
29 people are currently reading
1262 people want to read
About the author
Cecilia Aragon
5 books60 followersCecilia Aragon is an award-winning author, airshow pilot, and the first Latina full professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Winner of the 2021 Nancy Pearl Award, her memoir, FLYING FREE: My Victory over Fear to Become the First Latina Pilot on the US Aerobatic Team (Blackstone Publishing), has been described as "exhilarating, adventurous, and thoughtful." FLYING FREE lifts readers into the skies on a woman's epic journey from fearful, bullied child to champion pilot.
Her 2019 book, WRITERS IN THE SECRET GARDEN: Fanfiction, Youth, and New Forms of Mentoring (MIT Press), co-authored with Katie Davis, explores the surprising ways young people learn from each other in online fanfiction communities.
Visit Cecilia's website at http://CeciliaAragonAuthor.com
Sign up for her newsletter at http://eepurl.com/cZWElv
Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/CeciliaRAragon or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CeciliaArago...
Winner of the 2021 Nancy Pearl Award, her memoir, FLYING FREE: My Victory over Fear to Become the First Latina Pilot on the US Aerobatic Team (Blackstone Publishing), has been described as "exhilarating, adventurous, and thoughtful." FLYING FREE lifts readers into the skies on a woman's epic journey from fearful, bullied child to champion pilot.
Her 2019 book, WRITERS IN THE SECRET GARDEN: Fanfiction, Youth, and New Forms of Mentoring (MIT Press), co-authored with Katie Davis, explores the surprising ways young people learn from each other in online fanfiction communities.
Visit Cecilia's website at http://CeciliaAragonAuthor.com
Sign up for her newsletter at http://eepurl.com/cZWElv
Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/CeciliaRAragon or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CeciliaArago...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
June 25, 2020
"Air was the element I was born to live in.
My wings trembled in the air currents like they'd grown out of the muscles in my back. This plane was my body. My body gleamed in the sun, a tiny bright being free of the confines of the world."
This is the kind of stuff I crave for. An amazing female role model (A programmer, a nerdy computer scientist, an aerobatic pilot that won championships and university professor!) that I can look up to, the life of a successful aviatrix tingling my flying bones and helping me achieve my best, defying all odds in a man-oriented sector.
"Don't ever get too good at a traditionally female task or they'll make you do it for the rest of your life," is one of the most relatable sentences of this amazing memoir.
Flying is the passion that set free Cecilia Aragon and my heart filled with joy and excitement all through this book. I loved every single page, the rites of passages she accounted were excruciatingly hard and painful that lead to a life of fulfillment.
Flying is cheating death every day and for women to go down that road, especially if they are grown in a traditional atmosphere is especially difficult. The environment and society prepare you for the roles you will lead and deviating from this road requires courage and determination to eliminate obstacles along the way.
The price you pay is worth it, though and I agree with every word of her description of flying: "It was a three-dimensional dance in the sky, art plus mathematics, science plus sport, requiring all reflexes, rhythm, and timing."
A must-read for aviation enthusiasts, female aviators and all women struggling to achieve the best of themselves. This book will definitely boost your spirits and as Aragon says: "Life is relentless, and if you allow yourself to be fully alive, you too will become a force of nature."
"I've heard people describe how alcohol or heroin seems to fill the hole in their heart, how it wipes all the pain away. That's the effect flying had on me.
For so long, I've been aching, lonely, missing something essential. Flitting from one failure to another. But that day, the hole in my heart was filled."
(I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review)
My wings trembled in the air currents like they'd grown out of the muscles in my back. This plane was my body. My body gleamed in the sun, a tiny bright being free of the confines of the world."
This is the kind of stuff I crave for. An amazing female role model (A programmer, a nerdy computer scientist, an aerobatic pilot that won championships and university professor!) that I can look up to, the life of a successful aviatrix tingling my flying bones and helping me achieve my best, defying all odds in a man-oriented sector.
"Don't ever get too good at a traditionally female task or they'll make you do it for the rest of your life," is one of the most relatable sentences of this amazing memoir.
Flying is the passion that set free Cecilia Aragon and my heart filled with joy and excitement all through this book. I loved every single page, the rites of passages she accounted were excruciatingly hard and painful that lead to a life of fulfillment.
Flying is cheating death every day and for women to go down that road, especially if they are grown in a traditional atmosphere is especially difficult. The environment and society prepare you for the roles you will lead and deviating from this road requires courage and determination to eliminate obstacles along the way.
The price you pay is worth it, though and I agree with every word of her description of flying: "It was a three-dimensional dance in the sky, art plus mathematics, science plus sport, requiring all reflexes, rhythm, and timing."
A must-read for aviation enthusiasts, female aviators and all women struggling to achieve the best of themselves. This book will definitely boost your spirits and as Aragon says: "Life is relentless, and if you allow yourself to be fully alive, you too will become a force of nature."
"I've heard people describe how alcohol or heroin seems to fill the hole in their heart, how it wipes all the pain away. That's the effect flying had on me.
For so long, I've been aching, lonely, missing something essential. Flitting from one failure to another. But that day, the hole in my heart was filled."
(I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review)
October 11, 2020
Have I ever flown a plane? Dreamt of doing it? Imagined reading a book that is largely about flying? No. But a good writer can draw you in and make you turn pages as fast as you can on any subject. And Cecilia Aragon is that type of writer. I loved this book -- for its core themes of shy, bullied child to international aerobatic star; fearful girl who's convinced she's a failure to confident woman pursing her dreams; and the yes, you-can-make-it-on-a-shoe-string, compete against the powerful, and win. Aragon gives the reader reasons to cheer all the way along, and I enjoyed every detail about the flights (I had no idea how you much can smell, as well as see, from the air, and her thumbnail descriptions of California and the other parts of the world seen from the air were captivating). I was right with her as she learned to "dance in the air" -- and I never had to leave my couch! :) I even cried when I got to page 192. I won't say why. . . you can find out for yourself. This is a wonderful memoir, and I hope it helps many a girl and woman to reconsider opting for a safe and small life, when in their hearts lives a little pilot ready to suit up, take off, and soar.
May 7, 2021
A good autobiography of a 'fraidy cat girl who overcomes her fears to contend for a place on the US Aerobatics team (trick airplane flying). I recommend for middle grade up.
June 24, 2020
I really loved this book. It was such a fascinating tale of an extraordinary person. I did like how it focused on her specific journey in time. But the intro introduced so many other facets that I would love to read more from this author. I really related to her background and growing up shy and scared. Reading about someone who overcomes such obstacles and writes about them with such honesty and how they still affect her was so refreshing. This book definitely left me feeling inspired
September 7, 2020
Amazing and inspirational. Proof that we can all overcome fears with the right amount of grit, gumption, and resilience.
January 1, 2021
Flying Free is a poignant and fascinating free-thought memoir by Cecilia Aragon. The narrative flows from her childhood to adulthood and back again in many of the chapters.
Cecilia’s Chilean father and Filipino mother are proud American immigrants, and their happiness at living in a small town in Indiana blinds them to the reality of Cecilia’s childhood. Her life is lonely as she is bullied, shunned, and abused by peers. Teachers fail to see her potential.
But her college-professor father recognizes in her the same innate mathematical ability possesses. With his encouragement, Cecilia finishes high school early and is admitted to the CA Institute of Technology at age 16. She is extremely shy and timid, and afraid to ride elevators well into her twenties. Even when her classes are on the 11th floor, she uses the stairs.
Cecilia meets Ben, an engineering student at Cal-Tech who’s equally enamored with mathematics. She marries him at age 19. They write their own wedding vows and even chose a new last name to celebrate their new life together: Aragon. (Aragon is a province in Spain that reflected both their European and Hispanic ethnicities.)
Sadly, Ben expects her to be a housekeeper and cook—while still, of course, working full time and paying half their expenses. But Cecilia develops an interest in flying and soon thinks of little else. She has scant interest in his mundane chatter about his daily engineering tasks. Their marriage suffers.
Determined to follow her dream, Cecilia begins lessons. She is so small that she sits on a booster-like seat in order to fly. When she runs the numbers and finds that flying will be more affordable if she possesses her own plane, Cecilia borrows money to purchase one, though she’s not yet taken a solo flight.
Ben reluctantly develops an interest in his wife’s obsession with flying, as do both sets of parents—though none of them assist her with the expenses of flight lessons or the cost of buying and maintaining her airplane.
Flying instills a sense of worth that’s been sorely missing from Cecilia’s life. She becomes a test pilot, and becomes the first Latina to represent the USA in the Olympics of Aviation, the World Aerobics Championships.
Later Cecilia goes back to graduate school and earns her PhD in computer science. Her career includes stints working with astronomers, Nobel prize winners, teaching astronauts to fly and finally her dream job, teaching engineering at the University of Washington.
How does this tiny, insecure woman, fearful even of elevators, conquer the skies in a mere six years? This memoir shows Cecilia’s path to becoming a bold and confident woman. As she says, Flying Free “is my story of breaking free from expectations and prejudice, of rising above my own limits.”
Story Circle Book Reviews thanks Ann McCauley for this review.
Cecilia’s Chilean father and Filipino mother are proud American immigrants, and their happiness at living in a small town in Indiana blinds them to the reality of Cecilia’s childhood. Her life is lonely as she is bullied, shunned, and abused by peers. Teachers fail to see her potential.
But her college-professor father recognizes in her the same innate mathematical ability possesses. With his encouragement, Cecilia finishes high school early and is admitted to the CA Institute of Technology at age 16. She is extremely shy and timid, and afraid to ride elevators well into her twenties. Even when her classes are on the 11th floor, she uses the stairs.
Cecilia meets Ben, an engineering student at Cal-Tech who’s equally enamored with mathematics. She marries him at age 19. They write their own wedding vows and even chose a new last name to celebrate their new life together: Aragon. (Aragon is a province in Spain that reflected both their European and Hispanic ethnicities.)
Sadly, Ben expects her to be a housekeeper and cook—while still, of course, working full time and paying half their expenses. But Cecilia develops an interest in flying and soon thinks of little else. She has scant interest in his mundane chatter about his daily engineering tasks. Their marriage suffers.
Determined to follow her dream, Cecilia begins lessons. She is so small that she sits on a booster-like seat in order to fly. When she runs the numbers and finds that flying will be more affordable if she possesses her own plane, Cecilia borrows money to purchase one, though she’s not yet taken a solo flight.
Ben reluctantly develops an interest in his wife’s obsession with flying, as do both sets of parents—though none of them assist her with the expenses of flight lessons or the cost of buying and maintaining her airplane.
Flying instills a sense of worth that’s been sorely missing from Cecilia’s life. She becomes a test pilot, and becomes the first Latina to represent the USA in the Olympics of Aviation, the World Aerobics Championships.
Later Cecilia goes back to graduate school and earns her PhD in computer science. Her career includes stints working with astronomers, Nobel prize winners, teaching astronauts to fly and finally her dream job, teaching engineering at the University of Washington.
How does this tiny, insecure woman, fearful even of elevators, conquer the skies in a mere six years? This memoir shows Cecilia’s path to becoming a bold and confident woman. As she says, Flying Free “is my story of breaking free from expectations and prejudice, of rising above my own limits.”
Story Circle Book Reviews thanks Ann McCauley for this review.
April 5, 2020
Wow! This was an amazing and inspiring story that made me want to go out and sign up for all those life challenges I've given up on. Cecilia tells a wonderful come-from-behind story that has me rooting from her from page one. The book is a page-turner and beautifully written, even lyrical at times. Even though I don't know anything about flying, the descriptions are all clear and understandable, never overly technical. I felt like I was sitting in the cockpit with her as she took on each new challenge. I loved this book, I couldn't put it down. Great read to inspire hope and courage during dark times. Highly recommended!
I received an advance reader copy of this book for an honest review.
I received an advance reader copy of this book for an honest review.
May 28, 2020
What an amazing, inspiring story! I was entranced from the first page, and couldn't put it down. Cecilia Aragon tells a wonderful tale of her journey toward courage and fulfillment via the incredible adventure of learning to fly--and so much more. I wish I had her kind of daring and courage, but know that her story will inspire me to my own version of taking risks and stretching. I loved reading about both her outer journey and her inner path, and found her memoir full of thrilling moments, characters, fears overcome, and triumphs. I learned so much about aviation, and found her writing accessible, engaging, and absorbing--I was with her every step along the way. I have already re-read this book, as I wanted to savor every word all over again.
May 1, 2024
I am thunderstruck at the courage and transcendence of Cecilia Aragon. This badass writer put forth such an inspirational memoir that after finishing it I feel I must do more myself to change my life and the world. She once wrote for my blog on women of courage: "Doing something incredibly difficult gives you incredible strength. The easy choice may be more deadly in the end."
Cecilia Aragon and Flying Free are works of brilliance!
Cecilia Aragon and Flying Free are works of brilliance!
March 27, 2022
This memoir had me on the edge of my seat - even though I knew the outcome - with all the suspense of the author learning to fly competitively. The parallel story of her growing strength as a teacher, a woman in STEM, and a Latina is equally inspiring. Full of heart and hope for anyone with self-doubt and determination.
June 11, 2020
The subtitle of this book says it all - My Victory over Fear to Become the First Latina Pilot on the US Aerobatic Team. This empowering memoir shines a light on numerous obstacles that Cecelia Aragon faced throughout her life, and how she overcame them, and is still doing so today.
February 21, 2021
Amazing story!
What an inspirational story of never giving up and working towards your dreams no matter how hard you had to work. Cecilia Aragon is one amazing woman!
What an inspirational story of never giving up and working towards your dreams no matter how hard you had to work. Cecilia Aragon is one amazing woman!
April 3, 2020
I am grateful to NetGalley that I was able read this memoir. Cecelia Aragon is a daughter of immigrants that grew up in Indiana. She was smart, enjoyed math, and was often bullied and felt out of place. Fast forward to her early adulthood, a fellow co-worker offered to take her up for a ride in his plane. It terrified her but then it changed her life. She oscillated back and forth between confidence and insecurity as she learned to fly and then mastered aerobatics of flight. A well told story that often uses math references to relate to life and flying. After reading this book you’ll feel that anything is possible.
#netgalley #flyingfree
#netgalley #flyingfree
May 23, 2021
This book was so beautiful and Cecilia does an amazing job of bringing in the average person into understanding how flying works. She also is able to have these larger nuanced conversations about race and gender. I had not heard of her or this book until it was selected by my book club and I would definitely want to encourage others to pick it up, it brought me to tears multiple times and filled me with so much hope and courage.
January 15, 2021
I love reading about aviation, and women in aviation in particular. Much of this book resonated with me as a Latina -- particularly the idea of pushing past fear & doing the thing anyway. It's good to know I'm not alone in having to sometimes talk myself into the airplane!
April 4, 2021
I originally got this book from the library because a friend recommended that I join her book club which was discussing it. I have been a student pilot for a very long time and this book and the drive, tenacity and just plain courage that Cecilia Aragon demonstrated was exactly the inspiration that I needed. I will now buy her book to be able to reference the message and the example to just do something every day to conquer your fears. Obviously this is a message not just for pilot-wannabes but for everyone, and women in particular. I recommend this book to anyone who has ever had to struggle to achieve a goal. A great inspiring read!
December 9, 2023
As a first generation American who is also a pilot, I relate in a lot of ways with the Author Cecilia Aragon. When everything is stacked against you, Cecilia shows how anything is possible, even as an underdog.
January 6, 2021
Tremendous, revealing memoir of overcoming fears and conquering challenges through math and aerobatic flight. Young readers as well as adults will find this a gripping read.
January 27, 2021
Fantastic read!
May 20, 2021
I wanted to express my appreciation and admiration for this story, the way you told it, your writing, and just the inspiration you provide for so many people. The book was wonderful — so honest and informative and inspiring. Your willingness to expose so much of your deeply personal self in that was very brave.
I especially liked hearing about how your pursuit of that championship in aerobatics really unlocked other things in your life. I related to that in one of my own pursuits, although nothing on the scale of accomplishment as yours, in completing a 200 mile, two-day bike ride. Crossing the finish line, I felt like I could do anything.
I especially liked hearing about how your pursuit of that championship in aerobatics really unlocked other things in your life. I related to that in one of my own pursuits, although nothing on the scale of accomplishment as yours, in completing a 200 mile, two-day bike ride. Crossing the finish line, I felt like I could do anything.
December 29, 2020
Dr. Aragon is such a badass. It’s 2020 and if you’re watching the queens gambit and thrilled over the rapid rise of skilled young woman in a male dominated sport, then you may also enjoy this real life story of a timid young engineer going for an airplane ride with a friend and deciding she must fly planes herself. She’s still terrified, but sets up systems to get herself to keep taking lessons, keep practicing, and eventually landing on the us aerobatics team.
This journey to extremely skilled flying also gives her the confidence to go back and finish her PhD and become a professor... (one of very few Latina Full Professors) for which I am eternally grateful, as she was one of the people on _my_ PhD committee. Thank you for writing this book! It was deep, personal, exciting, and inspirational. 💜
This journey to extremely skilled flying also gives her the confidence to go back and finish her PhD and become a professor... (one of very few Latina Full Professors) for which I am eternally grateful, as she was one of the people on _my_ PhD committee. Thank you for writing this book! It was deep, personal, exciting, and inspirational. 💜
October 28, 2020
A story of inspiration to become what you want to be.
October 5, 2020
Read my review of this book on the New York Journal of Books:
https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book...
https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book...
Read
July 2, 2021An awesome and inspiring story, beautifully written, with just the right amount of aviation explanation for us earthbound folks. Even though I could never imagine being a passenger in a small aircraft—never mind flying one upside-down—I was immediately absorbed by the tale of Aragon's journey from bullied child to confident adult. Taking the reader along on her first hesitant aviation lessons, then rapidly up the levels of aerobatic flying (including the physical conditioning required), Aragon keeps the pace moving. Suspense builds as she pushes herself and her aircraft to the limit, and there are touching domestic moments as she converts her relatives from skeptics to fans. There's also an entertaining detour into the world of airshows, as Aragon dabbles in spectacle to raise funds for a new plane so she can represent the US at an international aerobatics competition. Confronting my own obstacles, I now often think, "What would Cecilia Aragon have done?"
October 22, 2020
As the first born American in a family of adult immigrants, so much of your story resonated with me, and I felt like you were writing much of my story. I knew literally nothing about smaller planes but found myself turning pages quickly to see how you readied your plane for the global competition!
December 15, 2020
Cecelia Aragon has done a great thing, here. Yes, she's written a charming memoir about her own young adulthood, when faced with fears that kept her from pursuing her dreams she chose just about the most frightening thing to tackle: Flying, and not just flying, aerobatics. She has also written a guidebook for success. Keep going, she tells you over and over. Let your fear spur you forward, rather than hold you back!
Aragon enchants her readers with beautiful descriptions of the land, the people and the atmosphere of the Bay Area of the 1980's. And she transports you into the air, until you feel yourself pulling back on the stick, thrown back in your seat with G-Force, and trying to orient yourself to the horizon as you fly upside down.
Aragon enchants her readers with beautiful descriptions of the land, the people and the atmosphere of the Bay Area of the 1980's. And she transports you into the air, until you feel yourself pulling back on the stick, thrown back in your seat with G-Force, and trying to orient yourself to the horizon as you fly upside down.
September 13, 2020
Dreams help get through life's hardest times. Believing in oneself when others don't is difficult, at best. Thriving and making it happen is a goal one has when one believes. One has a dream.
Studying hard and getting through schools with determination helps. Focusing on what's important helps.
This book is about all this and more. It's about an amazing woman who made it happen and surpassed her dreams.
Fly free.
Studying hard and getting through schools with determination helps. Focusing on what's important helps.
This book is about all this and more. It's about an amazing woman who made it happen and surpassed her dreams.
Fly free.
December 14, 2020
Delightful story. I stayed awake reading it—the writing and kept me engrossed and eager to read more (…and more). I enjoyed the beautiful writing; the taut construction of her story; the rich detail; and how she managed the pacing of the narrative.
May 2, 2021
What a wonderful and inspiring book. I am so glad Cecilia shared her amazing accomplishments with us.
December 14, 2020
Flying Free is about victory over adversity. I really enjoyed it! It was exciting to see, step by step, how Cecilia overcame her fears and painful background and reached great heights - literally. This is an engaging, interesting story which leaves you wondering, "What can I accomplish in my life if I dare to challenge my fears?"
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews