Unlearning to Fly: Navigating the Turbulence and Bliss of Growing Up in the Sky

In his equally fascinating and poignant memoir the author reveals how his steadfast love of airplanes guides him through a tumultuous childhood and empowers him to set the course for his own life.A thoughtful and detailed remembrance of a life in flight. In Roberts vivid telling of his life story he was always a pilot at heart (Kirkus Reviews).He will make you feel the awe of sitting in the cockpit the wonder of taking flight and the unbridled joy of achieving goals. Despite his disqualifying impairment and the family burning flames of alcohol he will be an airline pilot. Nothing matters more. As he grows up the author immerses himself in the world of pilots cockpits and hangars. He soaks up every gem of aviation wisdom his father and other pilots impart earning his pilots license before he can drive and at seventeen becoming the youngest licensed flight instructor in the U.S. Later his story flies you from the skies of Alaska to Americas East Coast and on to Greenland Iceland and Europe The big dream the dream of becoming an airline pilot though remains elusive. Finally on a stressful cross-Atlantic flight in a single-engine airplane with a broken compass and iced-over wings Roberts realizes that further growth both personal and career requires pushing aside beliefs he learned in his formative years. He must think for himself take risks form his own ideas.He must unlearn... to fly.