Flying with Dad

Written with vivid detail, this encouraging, life-giving book is a tale of a World War II Veteran father and his daughter, who found the relationship with him she'd always longed for. Do you have a family member who served in the military, who perhaps saw war, and wondered what their experience was really like? Do you suspect there are past traumas that might be affecting their ability to open up? Do you wish you could feel closer and more connected to your mom, dad, or other family members? If yes, Flying with Dad will pull you into a real-life story that shows you how. At age ten, Yvonne vied for her dad's attention. At twenty, they fought about race. At sixty, she struggled to talk with him about what mattered. In Flying With Dad, Caputo charts her journey to her father through the re-telling of why he went from repairing planes to being a B-24 navigator in WWII, how heavy German flak led to post-war nightmares, and why he suffered years of guilt after one particular bombing run over Unterschlauersbach, Germany. Over the years, Yvonne would ask her father questions about this past. She'd listen, pay attention, and found that he was paying attention to her as well. As she learned to meet him where he was instead of where she wanted him to be, the result was an intimacy, a deep abiding respect, and a no-regrets final goodbye. Flying with Dad is a heart-wrenching and heart-warming story of a daughter striving to understand her father, and him opening up about the experiences that shapes so many soldiers and can get in the way of the rich relationships they and their children deserve. "...a moving story." -James Bradley, author, Flags of Our Fathers "Yvonne Caputo's remarkable, extended 'interview' of her late father, World War II B-24 Navigator Captain Michael Caputo, is a nuanced and authentic window on one man's personal experience of combat. Enriching the historical record, father and daughter offer insight on the veteran's humility and stoicism, and how character framed the combatant's experience of mortal adversity but is also forever changed by it." -Brian Mahoney, World War II researcher and co-author of Reluctant Witness: Memoirs for the Last Year of the European Airwar 1944- 1945 "What grabs you in this engrossing family saga is the fierce connection forged slowly between father and daughter - a long, solo journey of small steps carried out with sensitivity and guts. Captivating! The man who loved a good story would appreciate what his daughter has done in Flying with Dad - as readers will too." -Jane LaTour, author of Sisters in the Brotherhoods: Working Women Organizing for Equality in New York City "Having worked with thousands of clients who long for even one deep conversation with their parent, grandparent, or uncle about their World War II experience, this book will feel very relatable. For anyone who had a difficult relationship with their silent generation dad, this will be a comfortable and comforting read. If you're lucky enough to have a World War II relative still living, this might give you the courage to ask the questions you've been wanting to ask." -William L. (Bill) Beigel, author of Buried on the Battlefield: Not My Boy "For anyone who has an interest in the events leading up to and including World War II and beyond, this superb book is a must read. Yvonne Caputo brings everything to life in this very moving story." -David Hastings, former chair of the Second Air Division Memorial Library <