Flyover Lives A Memoir
Flyover Lives A Memoir by Diane Johnson, published by Penguin Publishing Group in 2014, is a reflective exploration of identity and heritage. In this 263-page reprint, Johnson recounts her upbringing in Moline, Illinois, and her subsequent journeys around the world, including her time spent in Paris. Prompted by a friend’s comment on American indifference to history, she embarks on a quest to uncover her family’s past, tracing her lineage back to a young soldier who immigrated from France in 1711.
Readers will find a rich narrative that intertwines personal memoir with historical inquiry, as Johnson delves into the lives of her pioneer ancestors. The book examines themes of family, belonging, and the tension between the desire for adventure and the pull of one’s roots. Through her vivid storytelling, Johnson reflects on the influences that shape our identities, making this work a poignant addition to the genres of biography and personal memoir.
Official synopsis Publisher
“[A] vivid . . . quest for roots. . . . Splendid.”
—The New York Times Book Review
Growing up in the small river town of Moline, Illinois, Diane Johnson always dreamed of venturing off to see the world—and did. Now having traveled widely and lived part-time in Paris for many years, she is stung when a French friend teases her about Americans’ indifference to history. Could it be true? The j’accuse haunts Diane and inspires her to dig into her family’s past, working back from the Friday night football of her youth to the adventures illuminated in the letters and memoirs of her stalwart pioneer ancestors—beginning with a lonely young soldier who came to America from France in 1711.
As enchanting as her bestselling novels, Flyover Lives is a moving examination of identity and the “wispy but material” family ghosts who shape us. As Johnson pays tribute to her deep Midwestern roots, she captures the perpetual tug-of-war between the magnetic pull of home and our lust for escape and self-invention.
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