Mayday review
I haven’t flown for over 20 years since I was a child, but am due to fly to Amsterdam in September, and was already feeling a bit nervous about flying when suddenly the terrorist plot to blow planes up is all over the news, hand luggage is banned, and innocent items such as drinks cans or perfume bottles could be bombs, planes are grounded and the airports are in chaos. So what better time to allay my fears by pulling an air disaster novel off the bookshelf 
Mayday by Nelson DeMille and Thomas Block was originally written and published in 1979 but was updated and released again in the mid 90′s. I haven’t read the original version but this version of the airborne thriller certainly had me rocking and rolling in my armchair with every twist and turn of Flight 52.
The premise of the book is very simple – 12 miles above the Pacific Ocean, a military missile strikes Trans-United flight 52, a supersonic passenger jet bound for Japan. Rather than destroying the plane, the net result is the complete decompression of the craft at a very high altitude. Many are killed instantly, but the nature of the disaster means that the intrepid survivors must not only deal with the dying aircraft, but also with a mob of brain-damaged and violent survivors who were not so lucky. And the dying plane and their unpleasant fellow passengers are just the beginning of their problems.
I picked up this brick of a book and read it in three sittings; it’s one of those edge of the seat thrillers that picks you up and sweeps you along with its momentum. I remember actually gasping at points!
An all action thriller, Mayday is not going to win prizes for its in depth characterisation, but the characters are believable, with the protagonists truly heroic and the bad guys truly antagonistic (and perhaps the scariest part is that the bad guys are not who we would expect, in fact they’re supposed to be the good guys)
I really enjoyed reading this classic American bestseller, it’s plot revolving not only around the doomed aircraft, but also the conflicts of interest that arise in powerful factions. Mayday shows the terrifying lengths those without conscience will go to promote and protect their interests; but ultimately it celebrates the triumph of human heart and determination in the face of incredible adversity.
John Berry, from my armchair I salute you!
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I don’t know what your name is, but I know who you are – and on this principle Susan Jeffers may be said to speak to us all as she writes Dare to Connect. For despite the many surface differences we manifest as human beings, one would hope we all share a common humanity, (even if 99% of a person is bad, there is still the 1% to work with!), and thus Susan greets the light in all of us, and dares to connect.
For although the title of the book is an imperative, an exhortation, it also describes what Susan is doing in writing, for this is a very daring book. Not because it proposes a radical new concept, a controversial technique, or some drastic measures, but through the very fact that she addresses the part of us which is so often hidden, so often buried, so often disguised, so often ignored, and that is our humanity, and the simple spiritual side of our humanity. Before I go any further it should be emphasised that we are not talking religion, but the spirituality of the “Higher Self” the part of us that transcends our petty everyday drives and programming, the part that in some way ennobles us. Jeffers takes a risk because even in self help books there can be a tendency to ignore the spiritual in favour of practical and reliable psychology, and for good reason – modern markets can very easily turn against authors who begin to use words like spirituality in a book where the secular reader is perhaps looking for something more concrete, more immediately useful.
Thankfully, the value of Susan’s work lies in the fact that she does not offer quick fixes, but in plain and easy to follow language she gives us an understanding of how and why our relationships with other people are flawed and fraught with pain and misunderstanding. This applies not only to romantic relationships but also family situations, working life and friendships.
What I like about Susan’s writing is that she comes across with wisdom, respect for the reader, and weaves humour into the very serious business of human relations. Life is about connecting with each other, bearing our souls to each other, supporting each other, learning with each other, but it’s also very much about laughing with each other. And so we find that finding love on this strange planet is not about purchasing the correct deodorant, wearing the right dress size, and moulding ourselves into the correct specifications – it is first and foremost about finding out who we are, being comfortable with who we are, and learning simply to be who we are.
This wouldn’t be a self-help book without some practical tips and there are plenty of these, including advice on how to strike up conversations with strangers and how to connect with others in our lives – but this is mostly a long term journey. You have probably read at least one book that promises to change your life within minutes, but of course are more cautious in the face of such promises when such radical change doesn’t happen. I can’t promise that Dare to Connect will result in perfect relationships (apart from anything else there’s no such thing!) but it will give you the insights and the confidence to start making changes, beginning with yourself (don’t worry this is more about becoming the real you than making changes and compromises for the sake of a relationship!). And from those small changes in ourselves, it is amazing what an impact on the world can follow. Love has a place not just in our homes, but in the workplace, in the street, in faraway places too.
And I applaud Susan for using her book to dare to connect, to spread this word of love, and hope my review serves to help it spread just a little further
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