"A couple of years ago, my daughter-a recently graduated English major with an impeccable track record for book recommendations-suggested that I read Dear Edward. It took me a while to make it happen, but while we traveled together last holiday season, she glanced over mid-flight and was startled to see me reading her recommended novel about a plane crash while we were navigating multiple legs of our own air travel. I understood her concern."
"I even surprised myself by becoming so absorbed in Ann Napolitano's captivating story of a flight from Newark to Los Angeles gone tragically wrong. And yet, the book turned out to be an unexpectedly comforting companion up in the air. As so many of us prepare for holiday travel-a season when airports are crowded, flights are packed, and stress can spike-it feels like the right moment to revisit this beautiful novel that manages to hold both the vulnerability and the wonder of flying."
Dear Edward interweaves two narratives: a morning flight from Newark to Los Angeles carrying 183 passengers and the aftermath experienced by the sole surviving boy and connected families. The flight scenes present an ensemble of characters—the ailing billionaire, a pregnant teen, a woman reinventing herself, a gay soldier, a conceited econ bro, and a glamorous flight attendant—while the Adler family (Bruce, Jane, Jordan, and twelve-year-old Edward) anchors the emotional center. The story examines loss, survival, identity, and how community bears unbearable grief. The prose balances intimacy, humor, vulnerability, and the wonder of flying, offering unexpected comfort during crowded holiday travel.
Read at Psychology Today
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