Flying Lessons

In his fifties, Michael Southern has crash-landed. He's lost all passion for his job, his marriage is shaky at best, and his children are leaving his home, one by one. On top of that, he is in constant demand to look after his 101-year-old grandfather, whom he despises. When the old man dies, Michael is tasked to clean out the house and get it ready to sell. Little did Michael know that his grandfather's death would reveal a trove of secrets about a highly decorated pilot, a wartime hero, and a lost love. Michael decides to travel to Normandy to piece together his grandfather's hidden past, and his journey becomes a lens for his own personal reckoning that changes the flight of his life forever. FLYING LESSONS unfolds across two timelines, one in 2023 and another surrounding the events of D-Day in 1944. Woven throughout the novel, they portray generational tension and reconciliation, uncover hidden truths, and embrace transformation. War enthusiasts will appreciate the attention to historical detail and sudden violence that wartime brings, romantics will weep at lost opportunities and a love wholly realized, realists will understand the everyday struggles of middle-aged Americans, and travelers will love the travelogue-like descriptions of post war Normandy. It is a story written today, with past lessons for our own future. Read more