Fly Girl - Ann Hood

Memoir

Rating: 8/10

When Ann Hood’s father told her she was smart enough to write her own ticket, she had no idea how literally that would manifest.

She has written a memoir about her time as a Flight Attendant during the glamourous heyday of air travel. When every passenger was treated as if they had a first-class ticket and before everyone felt as if they were being conveyed on a greyhound bus. A job she loved, despite being referred to as a glorified waitress slash sex kitten who had to maintain certain aesthetic standards. The lure of adventure and being somewhere otherwise unattainable to her was irresistible.

A beautifully told micro memoir, steeped in nostalgia, that writes of the moments of a life that unfold on airplanes. Passengers are heading to weddings or honeymoons or funerals. They are moving to be with a partner or to leave one. They are celebrating or they are grieving. They are looking for a particular face to welcome them when they land. One that may not be there, and maybe hasn’t been for a while.

Footnote: I have been schooled in the path to becoming a Flight Attendant. Intensive training that requires they learn the safety and service protocols of every type of plane, up to ten. That requires they pass advanced first aid, including how to deliver a baby. And that in case of an emergency, the last one off the plane? The Flight Attendant.

Book Pairing(s): Smoke Gets In Your Eyes & Other Lessons From The Crematory by Caitlin Doughty, Hack: Driving A Yellow Cab by Melissa Plaut, Unreasonable Hospitality: Power Of Giving Than People Expect by Will Guidara