Nia Gilliam, a real-life airline pilot, is my captivating character of October. Her memoir, Cleared for Takeoff, shares her experiences on 9-11 and how resilience and determination gave her the courage to fly again.
Carol’s Captivating Characters of October Link-Up
***This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
On the last Friday of the month, I write a post about my most captivating character of the month and create a Link Party (see link below my review)! In addition to hearing about the memorable characters that have captivated you, I also want this feature to facilitate new bookish friendships, help you find your book twin, and promote blog engagement. This link party will stay active for 30 days. In exchange for linking your post back to this one, I promise to visit every blog post that links up, leave a comment, and share your post once on #bookx and #booksky.
Captivating Character Link Up Details:
- You can use fictional or real characters/persons.
- Link up a review that specifically highlights a captivating character or person, or write a post dedicated to your most captivating character or person of the month.
- Please include a link back to this (monthly) post.
- Be kind: visit one other post in the link-up and leave a comment.
- #CaptivatingCharacters26
No blog? No problem! Share your most captivating character of the month in the comments.
Shoutout to Joanne @ Portobello Book Blog, H.C. Newton @ The Irresponsible Reader, and Laura @ Reading Books Again for linking up with me in September. Check out their posts!
Nia Gilliam
A trailblazer…
Name of Captivating Character: Nia Gilliam
The reason she is captivating: adventurous, determined, resilient, dreams big, undaunted, positive attitude
Book and Author: Cleared for Takeoff: A Pilot’s Memoir of Purpose and Resilience After 9/11 by Captain Nia Gilliam
Genre/Categories: Nonfiction, Memoir, Females in Aviation, 9-11,
Mood: Reflective, thoughtful, inspiring, motivational
Content Considerations: 9-11 events
A Black woman pilot, Nia Gilliam shares her lifelong dream of flying and the challenges and obstacles she faced along the way to achieving her childhood dream.
I love a thoughtful and inspiring memoir, especially from a woman whose life experiences differ from mine.
In her memoir, Nia takes us back to her childhood and her obsession with planes and flying. The amount of determination she demonstrates from a young age is inspiring. Nia’s parents made many sacrifices to support her dreams including sending her to Space Camps where she wasn’t deterred when she was the only person of color in attendance. In high school, Nia convinced her parents to move so that she could attend a school that offered flying classes. She ditched school one day to travel across town to attend the funeral of a black woman aviator she admired. This adventure ended up changing the course of her life because she met a woman in attendance that became her lifelong mentor.
Nia’s focus and determination persisted after high school as she joined the Air National Guard to help pay for college.
Never deterred by racism or lack of funding, Nia finally achieves her goal. What she hadn’t planned for and couldn’t control was being an eyewitness to a jet flying into the World Trade Center on 9-11. This experience shook her to her core and caused a great deal of apprehension, anxiety, and fear. She wondered if she could return to her beloved career.
Nia took a leave of absence, sought out counseling, married, had a child, and took a writing class. It was in this writing class that she wrote out her 9-11 experiences and began to heal and entertain the idea of returning to her career.
As a female and a person of color, Nia overcame many challenges to achieve her dream. Fans of thoughtful and inspiring memoirs and against-the-odds stories will appreciate this compelling memoir. Her story is especially motivational for young Black women with aviation aspirations.
Star Rating: 4 Stars
Meet the Author of Cleared for Takeoff, Captain Nia Gilliam
Captain Nia Gilliam is an accomplished airline pilot with over 25 years of experience and type ratings in the Boeing 737, 757, 767, 777, 787, and Airbus A320. A trailblazer in aviation, she co-founded Sisters of the Skies, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing Black female pilots in professional flightdecks. Her contributions have earned her numerous prestigious awards and media recognition. A Chicago native turned Houstonian, she is a breast cancer survivor, champion for representation in aviation, and proud mother of a son who is also an airline pilot, and a daughter who loves to travel.
I KNOW you’ve encountered some fascinating and interesting characters this month! Share them with us by linking up your review post!
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Click here to enter!
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