Overview

My Pilot: A Story of War, Love, and ALS is a deeply moving memoir of devotion, sacrifice, and endurance told through the eyes of a military wife whose life is shaped by love, war, and unimaginable loss. When Sarajane Giere marries a young Air Force pilot in the early 1960s, she enters a world defined by constant relocation, long separations, and the ever-present shadow of danger. As her husband flies combat missions during the Vietnam War, she navigates the challenges of military life-raising children, sustaining a marriage across oceans, and confronting the quiet fears known only to those left behind. Years later, the battle shifts from the skies to their home when her husband is diagnosed with ALS. With honesty, grace, and quiet strength, Giere chronicles the transformation of a heroic pilot into a man fighting an unforgiving disease, and the profound role of a wife who becomes caregiver, advocate, and witness to courage in its most intimate form. Blending vivid historical detail with personal reflection, My Pilot offers a rare and poignant perspective on the Vietnam War, the resilience of military families, and the enduring power of love tested by time, illness, and sacrifice. This is not only a story of war, but of marriage lived fully-in sickness and in health-and of a woman whose steadfast devotion proves that heroism exists far beyond the battlefield.

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Reviews

Praise for My Pilot""An affecting recollection of a memorable marriage... The author charmingly strikes an informal register, an anecdotal casualness that forges an even greater intimacy with readers in this admirably candid remembrance... She relates Bernie's experiences so vividly that readers receive a captivating peek into a soldier's life."" - Kirkus Reviews Here is a most tender memoir, narrated by a devoted wife, that leaves the reader grateful for having experienced it. My Pilot treats of the nobler and finer values in life: service to others, self-giving love, respect, sacrifice, parenthood, and the profound security two people share when they commit wholly to one another. Written with grace and disarming quiet power, it moves the reader deeply. - Josephine Nobisso, The Weight of a Mass: A Tale of Faith Sarajane weaves a beautiful story of love-Bernie's love of service, Bernie's love of family, and Sarajane's love of life with Bernie. What more could we ask for? - Christine Pendergast, Caregiver Coordinator, ALS Ride for Life A wonderful book, a monument to the authentic courage of a combat pilot who narrowly escaped imprisonment in North Vietnam, and the loving wife who cared for him through the horror of ALS. - John G. Hubbell, P.O.W.: A Definitive History of the American Prisoner-Of-War Experience in Vietnam, 1964-1973 My Pilot exemplifies that women are warriors behind the warriors. Sarajane Giere's remarkable ability to cope under the most adverse conditions inspires. She captures the very essence of the marriage vow ""in sickness and in health"" as she chronicles her fifty-two-year love story with her husband, Bernard. - Mark Berent, Eagle Station Any service spouse will be touched by these reminiscences of military life-Giere's strength, sacrifices, fears, tears, and pride. The story is uplifted by the author's keen grasp of the era and by the beautiful portrayal of her marriage: ""Whatever happened, we were stronger by two."" - Rosalie Turner, Sisters of Valor My Pilot is a beautifully crafted love letter from Air Force wife Sarajane Giere to her husband, Bernie. Her spot-on descriptions of military-family life in the 1960s and '70s, combined with a fast-moving narrative rich with tragedy and triumph, draw readers directly into her world. ""Nerves of Steel, Heart of Gold,"" the epitaph she chose for Bernie, describes her just as aptly. - Heath Hardage Lee, The League of Wives

Author Information

My writing career began in earnest when I published an essay about my teenage son in a national newspaper. I was surprised to learn there was an editor out there who liked my humorous outlook on parenthood. This propelled me to keep writing and learn more about the craft.Up until then, art had been my passion. From my hometown of St. Louis, I went to Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to study painting under the well-known regional artist, Marvin Cone. After I married and became a military wife, and later a mother and teacher, my love of art grew as did my diaries and journals.Aside from the classic novels I absorbed, I began to read biographies and memoirs, and was enlightened by the revelations I found. I was inspired to learn how others found the power within themselves to overcome the vicissitudes and tragedies of life. I thought of how my parents had survived adversities, and decided to revisit the piles of memorabilia my mother left me. What gems I discovered! I knew I had a family memoir in the making.In 2012, I published The Melody Lingers On, the story of my Nolan grandparents and my mother, Patty, the youngest of eight sisters. I was excited to write them onto center stage, to show them off to my family and friends, who were delighted with their performance.My life was a story, too, adventurous and unpredictable, and I wanted to tell it in order to make sense of it all. My Pilot: A Story of War, Love and ALS, is a tribute to my husband, Bernard, who flew the F4 Phantom fighter in Vietnam and later flew for Pan Am, Delta and the Air National Guard. Writing about my life with Bernie was a long and satisfying journey that has mitigated my grief, and tempered it with a large dose of gratitude.The great artist and teacher at the Art Students' League of NY, Robert Henri (1865-1929) told his students to find out what they really liked, find out what was really important to them. ""Then sing your song,"" he said.And I'm happy to say that's exactly what I am doing.Sarajane's essays have appeared in The New York Times and the Christian Science Monitor and her devotionals in several books, including, Love is a Verb. A painter of Eastern Long Island landscapes and retired teacher, she now lives in New Jersey and has two children, seven grandchildren, and two great-grand children.

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