About this item
"Mommy burned up." On a cloudy day in August 2003, Grace and Lily Pearson, 4 and 3, were flying in their uncle's plane along with their mother on their way to their grandpa's birthday party near Lake Superior, when Lily noticed the trees out the window were growing close; so close she could almost touch them. Before the trees tore into the cabin, Grace had the strange sensation of falling through clouds. A story of tragedy, survival, and justice, Falling Through Clouds is about a young father's fight for his family in the wake of a plane crash that killed his wife, badly injured his two daughters, and thrust him into a David-vs-Goliath legal confrontation with a multi-billion dollar insurance company. Blindsided when he was sued in federal court by this insurance company, Toby Pearson made it his mission to change aviation insurance law in his home state and nationally, while nursing his daughters to recovery and recreating his own life. Falling Through Clouds charts the dramatic journey of a man who turned a personal tragedy into an important victory for himself, his girls, and many other Americans.
About the Author
Falling Through Clouds--A Story of Survival, Love, and Liability is my first book. It's the true story of a young father's fight to survive the devastating effects of a small plane crash that killed his wife, badly injured his two daughters and thrust him into a David-vs-Goliath legal confrontation with a multi-billion dollar insurance company.I grew in York, England, and graduated from St. Hugh's College, Oxford where I studied English Literature. I then moved to New York City, realised I wanted to become a journalist, and eventually earned a masters from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. Since 1998, I've been fortunate to report widely on many aspects of American culture. I worked for over a decade as a New York-based reporter and producer for the BBC, covering many significant stories including the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Northeast blackout of 2003, the trial of Michael Jackson, and three presidential elections.I continue to work as a freelance contributor to major media outlets on both sides of the Atlantic including the BBC, The Guardian newspaper, Listen: Life with Classical Music, Town and Country, and Vanity Fair. Lately, I've focused on the classical arts and culture, as well as compelling human interest stories.Photo by Ivan Nikolov
