Blue Skies and Long Runways

Kathleen Lux hails from a family lineage of proud military service, and joins the United States Air Force in 1977 to add, as she describes it, a little adventure to her life. Now retired as a colonel after thirty years in nursing -- often serving as a flight nurse -- Lux reveals how she is forced to grow up quickly if she hopes to remain, and excel, in the Air Force. In this coming-of-age collection of humorous, candid, and provocative vignettes, Lux holds nothing back as she recalls caring for patients immediately after a terrorist attack in Germany, handling an emergency egress from a burning aircraft, and even refusing a direct order from a four-star general. At times the weight of her decisions and the inescapable memories of what she's witnessed seems overwhelming. Not until Lux, herself, receives a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress does she allow the journey of self-forgiveness and healing to begin.

Kathleen's memoir is her first published book. She is a thirty-year Air Force nurse veteran and a Professor Emeritus in nursing from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio where she lives with her cat, Selleck (named after Tom, the actor). She loves to travel the world and has already visited 72 countries, playing bridge, and cross stitching.