"The Aviator's Wife" by Melanie Benjamin

   What a dilemma this book causes for me!   I am reading it for a book club and probably I will be standing alone in my reaction to this book.
    "The Aviator's Wife" is a fictionalized biography of Anne Morrow Lindbergh.  There is the dilemma!  It is fictionalized, although all real names are used- Anne's family as well as friends and acquaintances.  You feel as though you are reading an actual biography.  You are not!  I kept reminding myself!
   The book is beautifully written and carries you away with the story.  Fascinating story!   BUT....it shows the interior life of Anne.  Isn't it presumptuous for the author to think that she understands all of Anne's thoughts and feelings?  I realize that the author researched the subject well, BUT...does that mean that she knew her every thought, and needs the world to know?

    The younger generations are not even aware of the Lindberghs.
Charles Lindbergh was the first pilot to fly from New York to Paris in 1927 at age 25.  He became extremely famous!  Swarmed and adored by the public!  A hero to the whole world!
  After marrying Anne, he taught her to fly and they became "The first couple of the air".  They could not go out in public without being swarmed.

  
   The kidnapping of their first son became world news.
   Obviously there is an intriguing story there.  BUT...as the author seems sympathetic to Anne having to live in this 'fishbowl', she continues to invade Anne's personal space.  She actually seems to be attempting to expose Anne's soul to the public.
  The author claimed that she wanted to tell Anne's ENTIRE story.  BUT...Anne had already written a book and her daughter also wrote books about the family and specifically her mother.  They told you what they wanted you to know.  Anything more is 'invasion of privacy' to me.

   I am protective of Anne because she wrote an amazing book that every woman should read:
"A Gift From The Sea"
Quote:

"I want to give and take from my children and husband, to share with friends and community, to carry out my obligations to man and to the world, as a woman, as an artist, as a citizen.  But I want first of all to be at peace with myself. I want a singleness of eye, a purity of intention, a central core to my life that will enable me to carry out these obligations and activities as well as I can".

   It is obvious that Anne had struggles, but she used them to write this beautiful book, lifting up other women, encouraging them in the challenges facing women.

   Anne's daughter, Reeve, is also a great writer.  I enjoyed reading both "Under a Wing" - about their family life, and "No More Words: a journal of my mother".  
   Anne's story has been told.  Give her the peace in her death that she searched for in life.