Taking Flight

By: Sarah Solmonson. Format: Paperback. Read: January 2013.

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.

This is the first memoir that I have read in a long time and I can honestly say that it is one that I will never forget. I was left so speechless by this book, that I had a difficult time writing this review. I couldn’t think of what to say. My heart and soul were moved by her courage to write this story, while my heart and mind were grateful for her honesty. Yet, somewhere in all of these feelings, not once did my hands feel that they could write a worthy review. The only thing I could think to say was: Wow, grab a blanket and a box of tissues. Then curl up and read this book! From the very beginning, I had tears in my eyes and then a few pages later, I was smiling and laughing. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

~Ariesgrl

Note:

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