Customer Reviews

Learning to Fly

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4 star:		(2)
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This engrossing novel is better than a parenting book! And if you you see a frustrated, self-conscious mom in the store with a kid having a conniption fit, do her a favor and tell her about this book. Seriously. You may just save her some heartache.

Learning to Fly is about parenting and the heart of a mother. But it's even more than that. It's about marriage and friendship and peer pressure. It's about the consequences of not speaking up and of letting your child get what they want all the time. It's about the dysfunction of reliving your childhood through your child and the damage it can do. It's about so many things. And the most exciting part of this book is it's every mother. There is a bit of Susan and Jo Jo in all moms, so everyone can relate.

I love reading about dysfunction when the authors have deep insight into the situation and wisdom that shows up in their characterization. Roxanne Henke nails so many things in the process of telling you this story that will grip your heart in many, many ways. In fact, this is the perfect gift for a parent with little ones. Readers can't help but see just how much it hurts your child to give in to them. It's not a pretty sight and only gets worse as they get older. The takeaway value of this book is that it's worth it to be consistent and to listen to your child and not make excuses for their bad behavior. Plus, the characters are so well done it's hard not to love them and understand them by book's end. I highly recommend this book!

Learning to Fly is like a library of parenting books rolled into the most wonderful story imaginable. I read this book on two weekend flights and it made the hours fly by. Moms (and dads) of every age will find themselves saying over and over again, "Yes, that's exactly what it's like to be a parent!" Be prepared to laugh one minute, and cry your eyes out the next, and to be left with a satisfied smile on your face and hope in your heart. I can't quit thinking about this great story! My favorite Roxanne Henke book yet--and that's saying a lot!

This is a wonderful book and it had me "hooked" from the first page! Great job Roxy and I would recommend it to my friends. In fact......I am buying some to give them. Keep up the wonderful work!! I am already excited for the next book you are writing!!!

I read Learning to Fly while I was pregnant with my daughter. It traces the relationship between a mother and her daughter from birth through her going to college. Maybe it was partly due to hormones that it made me cry. However, even now when I think about the story I get emotional. It reminded me of the kind of mom I want to be and the choices you have to make to be that kind of mom. I highly recommend this book to any mother with a daughter!!!

I loved Roxanne Henke's book "Becoming Olivia" so I knew "Learning to Fly" would be a good read, too. I could not put this book down. I have a nine year old (too young to be a teen, to old to be a baby) and, wow, could I see myself in several of those chapters! You get 2 different parenting perspectives...I"m sure everyone can relate to someone who reminds them of "JoJo". A couple of parts brought me to tears and I plan on keeping this book to pass down to my daughter when she becomes a mom. My sister has a daughter and I'm insisting she read this book! Great Read!

For all of us moms who wonder, "Am I a good mom?" this book is for you. So, that encompasses almost every mom. The beginning of the book reconnects two high school acquaintances with daughters about the same age. Each chapter comes from the perspective of each mom and you get to know each character well. You see each parenting problem they go through and how they differ in parenting style. Once the daughters are slightly older, chapters come from their perspectives as well.
At the beginning of the book I saw a little of myself in both the moms but then as the book went on parenting styles were near polar opposites. As years go on the two moms grow more and more apart even though their daughters are "best friends". I love the underlying messages in the book and had asked myself a lot of questions throughout reading it. What would I do in this situation? Do I do that now? My favorite message from the book is put yourself in their shoes (in reference to your child). It does make me see things in a different way. Not sure this book will make me a better mom, but it was entertaining to read.

Recently, I laid down Roxanne Henke's latest book, Learning to Fly, with a satisfied sigh. Though I hated to say "good-bye" to the very real characters, it was time for them to move on. They'd been through so much. And thanks to Henke's great story-telling ability, so had I. Experiencing Lily's journey, from her first day of life until she was ready to leave the nest, was a delight indeed.

I was reminded of sweet and stressful times with my own children. So real were the characters, I rooted for them, wept with them and, exasperated, yelled out loud at some of Jo-Jo's parenting choices. I kept hoping Tiffany would understand the gift of having a true friend, and that her mother would do the same. Through the triumphs and struggles of two families, two women, and two daughters, I couldn't keep from turning the pages rapidly. The story hooked me right away and drew me in. As always with a Roxanne Henke book, I found a wealth of wisdom tucked into a very compelling story.

Roxanne Henke offers her readers a compelling and unique novel in her latest release, Learning to Fly. Susan Shaffer and JoJo Nash went to the same school and meet in the grocery store years later, following the birth of their daughters.

Susan and JoJo are from different worlds but become best friends as do their daughters. Susan, Lily's mother, is a middle-class woman who believes in God and relies on Him and parenting advice she received from Darla, her hospital roommate when Lily was born. "Use common sense. â¦you're Lily's parent. Not her best friendâ¦" JoJo Nash, a single parent to a young son, married into money, talks to God occasionally, knows in her heart what's right, but is unable or unwilling to say no to her daughter, Tiffany.

Learning to Fly follows Lily and Tiffany from the toddler years through high school. We revel in Lily's accomplishments and smart at the sting of childhood disappointments. The lack of discipline and limit setting by Tiffany's parents, particularly, JoJo, is a dire warning of things to come.

Learning to Fly began slowly but its compelling message soon took over. All the self-help books or parenting classes in the world will not score a direct hit like Henke's message that children want limits, even if they consciously do not understand the concept. "Teach a child to choose the right path, and when he is older, he will remain upon it." Disregard the message and suffer the consequences.

Armchair Interviews says: A must read for all mothers and mothers-to-be. Our children's lives may depend on hearing the message and acting on it.

What an excellent book describing the journey of motherhood.I'm giving this book to expectant mothers and also to my friends that have children graduating this year.There is such a lesson in this book for young mothers that I insisted my daughter who has her own three babies read it now! Thanks,Roxy!

Roxanne nailed parenting on the head! This book should be required reading for new parents so they realize the importance of discipline. I just so enjoy Roxanne's writing style because she always has little bits of wisdom that may not seem real important but then, lo and behold, something happens and you realize how profound they are. This is a great read and patrons who have read it have commented over and over again how she hit the nail on the head with this book. Keep it up, Roxy....we look forward to the next one!