My Writing

Writing has been a constant in my life even as the plans for my future had to change. I started taking flying lessons at the age of fourteen after my father bought me a ride in an airplane. I flew by myself at sixteen before I had my driver's license. When I became a flight instructor one of my first students was my father. My first piece was published in AOPA Pilot about my first engine failure at the age of 23.

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I flew for a small regional airline until they went out of business the same week I found out that I was pregnant with my first child. I took an unplanned break from flying since the airlines were not hiring and my second daughter was born with a rare genetic disorder. I began writing about parenting a child with disabilities. One of my favorite experiences was volunteering with a therapeutic horseback riding program and watching my youngest daughter, Ashley, learn to ride at the age of four before she could walk. I started writing about volunteering and raising a child with disabilities while in graduate school at the University of North Carolina.  ​​

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My flying career ended when I developed a chronic health condition. Writing has helped me deal with debilitating pain and the challenges of being a patient. I wrote my memoir How Not to Fly an Airplane while earning a MA in science writing at Johns Hopkins University. I am working on a second book about Ashley's life now that she is in her thirties. 

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