 |
Author Sousa has constructed a remarkable melding of accurate memories of love and war, almost fictional characters to array them, and an abiding angelic presence. The primary setting is a nursing facility where the aging Captain Sousa is meeting a younger fellow, Mike, who claims that he has heard about some of the details of the captain's military career and other exploits and wants to learn more. Quite willingly and with a verve that belies his years, Sousa launches into the epic tale of the only child of a military pilot father and a hardworking mother struggling in the wake of the Great Depression. His youth entailed national and international moves and a secret allure for flying—but not only in airplanes. At an early age, Sousa, often plagued by earaches, began to try to levitate, imagining what it would be like to look down upon the clouds, gradually becoming convinced that, in some mysterious way, he was able to soar into the heavens. The family upheavals included visiting Europe not long after the close of World War II, where Sousa saw the devastation of war.
Finding college unrewarding, Sousa gave wing to his hidden fascination for flight, joining the US Navy where he would serve several stints in wartime Vietnam, travel to numerous countries, and imbibe exotic cultures. One assignment was especially perilous and vitally important during the Cold War: transporting hydrogen bombs from their place of manufacture to their storage site. This job, like all flight work, was life-threatening, as Sousa was well aware, having been told early in his Navy career that there are old pilots and bold pilots but no old bold ones (though it would seem that Sousa might be one exception to that adage). The Captain’s military endeavors are only part of his comprehensive recollections. He unashamedly relates to Mike his experience of girls, romance, sex, and marriages, with the triumphs and failures of each vividly depicted. And underpinning all of what the Captain shares is his spontaneous, sometimes raucous humor balanced by the Christian convictions he has carried throughout his life.
Sousa has composed his autobiography in two parts, with this first segment clearly focused on his military career. He made an intriguing choice in gathering his memories. He decided to semi-fictionalize his story, opining that this unusual format would be "an alternative to one-sided, first-person narration.” Sousa "speaks" as a character in his memoir, with his actual son Michael encouraging the process and taking his role as listener. Sousa's sincere belief that his deceased aunt Jean began speaking to him in 1969 is especially poignant. A guardian angel and psychic mentor, Jean is a continuing presence throughout. Sousa’s book is satisfyingly peppered with family photos and portraits of the aircraft he bravely managed and navigated and is presented in down-to-earth dialogue and some charming poetic offerings. Sousa’s realistic, minute-by-minute combat recollections will draw in those readers with ambitions for joining the brave flyers who may face the harrowing realities of warfare. It will additionally attract those who enjoy spicy, tender, and sometimes acrimonious love play. And, perhaps most significantly, Sousa subtly communicates a mystical message for those seeking the sweetness of spirituality that can thrive in the heart of even the toughest warrior.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review