Rebecca L. Brown

Rebecca L Brown's debut, Flying at Night, is one of my favorite books so far this year. It took me a bit to get through it because it brought up a lot of memories of my own upbringing, and I had to stop and ponder some things. The voices the author has given the three main characters - Piper, her autistic son, Fred, and her father, Lance - are just absolutely amazing. I felt like I knew each of these characters intimately by the time I was finished, and was fully invested in their lives and the outcomes of their situations. Piper is an artist who has chosen to stay home with her son, Fred, who is showing signs of being on the autism scale. She is very much in denial about it. Fred's voice in his entries in the book are written in such a way that the reader knows he has some kind of disorder, but they are so funny and wise and filled with his personality that you cannot help just love this character and hope for the best for him. Piper's husband, Isaac, is a lawyer for The Innocence Project and is away from home a lot working, so Piper feels like she is handling Fred's challenges as if she were a single parent. In the midst of this crisis, her father suffers a heart attack while playing squash, and is without oxygen for so long that everyone thinks he will never recover. Lance was a pilot, "The Silver Eagle," and we come to understand through his voice and Piper's descriptions that Lance was a terrible father and husband, emotionally and verbally abusive. No one is really that interested in him surviving, but miraculously he does, and this has far reaching consequences for all of the family. The beauty of this book is seeing how all the characters handle the challenges that come their way, and getting into the hearts and minds of the characters in the chapters from their point of view. All the narrators in the book have opportunities for redemption in some form or another, and upon turning the last "page," I just signed with pleasure. My heart was aching, but my soul was at peace. This is a great book, and I highly recommend it. 5 stars!… (mer)

4.5 stars.
Flying at Night by Rebecca L. Brown is a bittersweet and touching novel of healing.

Piper Whitman has a lot on her plate when she unexpectedly becomes her father's caretaker. Her husband, Isaac Hart, is a law professor who is also part of The Innocence Project so he works long hours and even when he is home, he is not always engaged with his family. Their nine year old son, Fred, is a delight but his many quirks and idiosyncrasies exhaust Piper. Her relationship with her father, airplane pilot Lance "the Silver Eagle" Whitman is rife with childhood memories of his emotional abuse so she is anxious when spending time with him. When Lance suffers a heart attack, he is not expected to live but no one is really heartbroken about their impending loss. Much to everyone's shock (and dismay), he pulls through but he has brain damage so he is facing an extensive recovery period. Just as Piper and Isaac receive a troubling diagnosis about Fred, Piper is stunned when her mother decides to leave Lance, which leaves Piper responsible for his care. Will the time father and daughter spend together prove to be a period of healing? Or will Piper continue to cling tightly to her hurt and resentment?

Piper is not exactly a likable character. She is prickly, angry and resentful about many things in her life. She shoulders the brunt of responsibility for taking care of Fred, but to be fair, she has not really articulated her need for more help from Isaac. Her reaction to Fred's diagnosis is frustrating since she is focused on placing blame for his condition. While she is certainly concerned about his future, Piper wallows in self-pity at the realization his future will not be what she envisioned.

Piper's relationship with Lance is fraught with tension and residual anger over the way he treated his family during her childhood. She is upset about her current situation, but like she does in other areas of her life, she refuses to seriously examine her emotions or try to find a solution to the distressing situation. A bit of a martyr, Piper is initially only going through the motions while helping her father. However, due to the drastic changes in his personality following the brain injury from the heart attack, he is nothing like he used to be. Unlike the controlling and hypercritical man he was before, Lance is now child-like and helpless as he works to regain the skills he has lost.

Young Fred is a truly wonderful little boy who is extremely intelligent yet lacking in social skills. There is never any question that Piper deeply loves her son and she is incredibly defensive when he gets an unexpected diagnosis. Fred is surprisingly intuitive when it comes to helping his grandfather and Piper is deeply moved by their loving interactions.

Flying at Night is a wonderfully redemptive novel that is quite captivating. The characters are well developed with all too human frailties that are frustrating yet very easy to relate to. The storyline is deeply affecting and some of the passages are laugh out funny while others are so poignant it it is impossible not to become teary-eyed. A very impressive debut by Rebecca L. Brown that will touch readers' hearts as they join Piper, Fred and Lance on their sometimes painful yet ultimately heartwarming journey.… (mer)

This is a well written debut novel about a family with issues. Piper is the mother of an autistic son. She’s still trying to adjust to this new diagnosis as well as deal with her absent husband. While all this is going on, her father suffers a severe heart attack that leaves him with brain damage. When his wife can not longer cope with her husband, and does not want to take care of him, Piper moves him into her home to care for him.

This story is told from the POVs of Piper, Fred, and Lance (Piper’s father). Flying at Night is an emotional story about family, parenthood, guilt, and unconditional love. None of us are perfect and the things that happen to us aren’t always fair. This is precisely why this novel felt so real. The characters are flawed, their relationships are imperfect and life doles out some things that are difficult to accept and deal with. Piper’s guilt over Fred’s diagnosis, along with the burdensome nature of having to be a caregiver to her father especially rang true. I loved Fred’s character and appreciated the bits of humor his voice added to the novel. The narrative moved smoothly between these three perspectives. This was a very emotional story, with a lot of life lessons, truth and anguish. I felt close to all the characters and my heart ached for them. I turned the last page and wish I didn’t have to say goodbye. This is Rebecca Brown's debut novel and is loosely based on her own experiences raising a child with autism. I look forward to reading more from her in the future. I highly recommend! The publisher, Penguin Publishing Group - Berkley, generously provided me with a copy of this book to read. The rating, ideas and opinions are my own.… (mer)

The plot of Flying at Night, the character driven debut novel by Rebecca L. Brown is a relatable one. It is about a family redefining itself and rediscovering itself in light of a medical crisis and a medical diagnosis. The book is touching, and the ending is a surprise to me. In hindsight, I can see it, but not in first reading the book. It leaves me thinking.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2018/06/flying-at-night.html

Reviewed for Penguin First to Read program.… (mer)