Sarajane Giere

Broschiertes Buch

My Pilot

A Story of War, Love, and ALS

Beschreibung

My Pilot: A Story of War, Love, and ALS is a deeply moving memoir of devotion, sacrifice, and endurance told through the eyes of a military wife whose life is shaped by love, war, and unimaginable loss. When Sarajane Giere marries a young Air Force pilot in the early 1960s, she enters a world defined by constant relocation, long separations, and the ever-present shadow of danger. As her husband flies combat missions during the Vietnam War, she navigates the challenges of military life-raising children, sustaining a marriage across oceans, and confronting the quiet fears known only to those left behind. Years later, the battle shifts from the skies to their home when her husband is diagnosed with ALS. With honesty, grace, and quiet strength, Giere chronicles the transformation of a heroic pilot into a man fighting an unforgiving disease, and the profound role of a wife who becomes caregiver, advocate, and witness to courage in its most intimate form. Blending vivid historical detail with personal reflection, My Pilot offers a rare and poignant perspective on the Vietnam War, the resilience of military families, and the enduring power of love tested by time, illness, and sacrifice. This is not only a story of war, but of marriage lived fully-in sickness and in health-and of a woman whose steadfast devotion proves that heroism exists far beyond the battlefield.

Autor

My writing career began in earnest when I published an essay about my teenage son in a national newspaper. I was surprised to learn there was an editor out there who liked my humorous outlook on parenthood. This propelled me to keep writing and learn more about the craft.Up until then, art had been my passion. From my hometown of St. Louis, I went to Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to study painting under the well-known regional artist, Marvin Cone. After I married and became a military wife, and later a mother and teacher, my love of art grew as did my diaries and journals.Aside from the classic novels I absorbed, I began to read biographies and memoirs, and was enlightened by the revelations I found. I was inspired to learn how others found the power within themselves to overcome the vicissitudes and tragedies of life. I thought of how my parents had survived adversities, and decided to revisit the piles of memorabilia my mother left me. What gems I discovered! I knew I had a family memoir in the making.In 2012, I published The Melody Lingers On, the story of my Nolan grandparents and my mother, Patty, the youngest of eight sisters. I was excited to write them onto center stage, to show them off to my family and friends, who were delighted with their performance.My life was a story, too, adventurous and unpredictable, and I wanted to tell it in order to make sense of it all. My Pilot: A Story of War, Love and ALS, is a tribute to my husband, Bernard, who flew the F4 Phantom fighter in Vietnam and later flew for Pan Am, Delta and the Air National Guard. Writing about my life with Bernie was a long and satisfying journey that has mitigated my grief, and tempered it with a large dose of gratitude.The great artist and teacher at the Art Students' League of NY, Robert Henri (1865-1929) told his students to find out what they really liked, find out what was really important to them. "Then sing your song," he said.And I'm happy to say that's exactly what I am doing.Sarajane's essays have appeared in The New York Times and the Christian Science Monitor and her devotionals in several books, including, Love is a Verb. A painter of Eastern Long Island landscapes and retired teacher, she now lives in New Jersey and has two children, seven grandchildren, and two great-grand children.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Pinesfield Prose
• Seitenzahl: 240
• Erscheinungstermin: 20. Dezember 2025
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 229mm x 152mm x 13mm
• Gewicht: 354g
• ISBN-13: 9798218820961
• Artikelnr.: 76258598