As someone familiar with Karen McLeod's work, it was such a joy to see her wonderful writing again, which always teeters on the delicate but wonderful balance of humour and heart. She writes brilliantly about her career in cabin crew, but also the personal demons she was fighting the whole time.

A brilliant and heartfelt memoir, with joy and humour radiating from every page.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Lifting Off was a frank, behind the scenes look into the world of flight crew, but also so much more. It was a reflection on sexuality, relationships , and addiction . Karen’s struggles with alcohol addiction made for sober reading (pun intended 😊) and yet the beautiful descriptions of foreign countries and strange people and places lifted this from a standard drink memoir. I read this in just two sittings, my heart swooping and lifting through Karen’s flight. Great stuff!

I've always thought memoirs are fascinating stories; after all, writing someone's real-life story while paying attention to their feelings and thoughts is like handing over the keys to your life experience to strangers.
When I started reading "Lifting Off," I immediately thought it was an opportunity to discover a bit of the behind-the-scenes of a flight attendant, to better understand the dynamics of this job, and why not, to learn what life is like in this profession. However, I didn't expect it to be such an apparently open novel.
In fact, it's the story of a lesbian flight attendant who recounts how her company essentially let her know not to be open about her sexual orientation, which, on the other hand, was apparently acceptable—almost encouraged—for gay flight attendants. I admit this left me puzzled: why would an airline suggest someone come out while making it clear to others that this action was discouraged? I'm not entirely sure this is plausible behavior. However, I've come to the conclusion that maybe—and I strongly emphasize this "maybe"—this didn't actually happen but is a projection of the protagonist; a way of seeing things that doesn't exactly align with the reality of the facts but explains her feelings. Knowing the protagonist's position, her love for the opportunity to travel, to always be in a different place, to be in contact with people, and to see new places, I find it conceivable that having to close herself off a bit to follow the company's instructions—given her character—might have been difficult and annoying.
Aside from the apparent difference in treatment between men and women brought forward by the company, I found the story touching, immersive, and intriguing. Without a doubt, a very well-executed memoir, also due to the style and smoothness adopted.

What a unique memoir! I was fascinated by the real life of a lesbian flight attendant and her adventures around the globe. When she first entered the career, she was beguiled by its exotic lifestyle and worldly adventures. But she feels quieted and stifled by being closeted and encouraged to stay that way by the airline. The only part of this book that I did not enjoy (or believe) was the author claims it was *totally* fine for gay male cabin crew to be out of the closet. I find this HIGHLY unlikely. It is only recently this would have been the case. In all decades past, it would have been equally disapproved and discouraged for gay males to be completely out as well. So while she may have honestly felt lesbians were being uniquely targeted to stay closeted, I absolutely do not believe that was the case.

The journey of her life is satisfying to read though because she shows her adventure through a unique flight attendant, globe trotting lifestyle, was eventually able to live who she was openly and out loud, and ultimately found love and peace. I would have enjoyed this as a fiction book, but the fact that it was a memoir and a real person's life made me enjoy it even more.