Author Patty Bear wins Independent Book Publishers Association Ben Franklin Silver Award

Big Congratulations to author Patty Bear @pattybear767 on the Independent Book Publishers Association Ben Franklin Silver Award for her memoir FROM PLAIN TO PLANE: MY MENNONITE CHILDHOOD, A NATIONAL SCANDAL, AND AN UNCONVENTIONAL SOAR TO FREEDOM. Interestingly, the award was in the category of religion. We celebrated with Patty by watching the Fort Lauderdale Airshow while she reminisced about her Air Force and airline career, and world travels she never would have experienced had she not gone through ten years of turmoil and transformation that brought her out of her traditional Mennonite upbringing. In her interviews, you can hear Patty talk about The Hero’s Journey, which she used as a framework, as many authors do, to tell her own story, but also uses as a life coach to talk about anyone’s journey through darkness to find a new path in life. IBPA had over 1900 entries this year across their categories. I’m so happy for her that they recognized the beauty and value of her story. You can hear more about Patty’s story in my interview with her on the Literary Aviatrix podcast season 1 , episode 8.