Come Fly with Me by Camille Di Maio Summary

Come Fly with Me by Camille Di Maio is a historical fiction novel set in 1962 about two Pan Am stewardesses escaping their pasts and pursuing freedom. Judy Goodman flees an oppressive marriage in small-town Pennsylvania, while Beverly Caldwell leaves behind her wealthy New York banking family. The novel follows their friendship, adventures across continents, encounters with love and danger, and the secrets that threaten to change their lives forever.

Come Fly with Me appeals to readers who enjoy historical fiction about female empowerment, vintage aviation, and the jet-set era of the 1960s. Fans of stories about friendship, second chances, and women breaking free from societal constraints will find this book captivating. The novel also suits readers interested in Pan Am history, old Hollywood glamour, and low-heat romance storylines woven into women's fiction.

Come Fly with Me is worth reading for its meticulously researched portrayal of Pan Am stewardesses and the pioneering women who seized career opportunities in the 1960s. Camille Di Maio interviewed actual Pan Am stewardesses through World Wings, International, ensuring authentic details about galley kitchens, training, and layovers. The novel combines historical accuracy with compelling storytelling about friendship, escape, and self-discovery, making it both entertaining and inspiring.

Camille Di Maio is an Amazon bestselling author and Romance Writers of America Honor Roll Inductee known for historical fiction novels. She left an award-winning real estate career in San Antonio to become a full-time writer and has authored multiple books including The Memory of Us, The Beautiful Strangers, and The First Emma. Her works have won the Beverly Hills Book Award and Golden Quill, and have been translated into French, Hungarian, German, Estonian, and Persian.

The central themes in Come Fly with Me include female empowerment, freedom from oppressive circumstances, and friendship between women from different backgrounds. Camille Di Maio explores how limited career opportunities were for women in the 1960s and celebrates the pioneering spirit of Pan Am stewardesses. The novel also examines escape, self-discovery, and pursuing dreams on your own terms, while acknowledging that romance and empowerment don't have to be mutually exclusive.

The two main characters in Come Fly with Me are Judy Goodman and Beverly Caldwell, both aspiring Pan Am stewardesses with opposite backgrounds. Judy comes from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, and is secretly married while hiding this fact to keep her job, since being married could result in termination. Beverly was born into a wealthy banking family in New York but feels imprisoned by her privileged circumstances and seeks independence. Despite their different origins, both share the goal of freedom and help each other achieve it.

Come Fly with Me is inspired by true historical details about Pan Am Airlines in the early 1960s, though the characters are fictional. Camille Di Maio extensively researched by interviewing real Pan Am stewardesses through World Wings, International, a philanthropic organization that granted her access to their archives and personal stories. The novel incorporates authentic details such as Pan Am's policy of firing married stewardesses and the typical 18-month career span, which often ended when stewardesses married passengers.

Camille Di Maio was inspired by a nonfiction book about the jet-set era she discovered years ago while traveling in Austin. The title itself came from the famous Frank Sinatra song and perfectly captured the travel themes and interior journeys of characters escaping their circumstances. Di Maio became particularly fascinated when she learned that Pan Am stewardesses could be fired for being married, which sparked the creation of Judy's character who secretly hides her marital status.

The title Come Fly with Me evokes multiple layers of meaning inspired by Frank Sinatra's famous song from the jet-set era. It represents the literal travel opportunities with Pan American Airlines that both main characters pursue across continents. More symbolically, the title reflects the interior journeys of Judy and Beverly as they "fly" away from oppressive circumstances toward freedom and self-discovery. The phrase captures both the glamorous 1962 setting and the transformative escape both women desperately seek.

Come Fly with Me reveals that Pan Am stewardesses in the 1960s faced strict employment policies, including termination for marriage, limiting their average career span to just 18 months. Through her research with World Wings, International, Camille Di Maio discovered authentic details about galley kitchens, rigorous training procedures, and that Hong Kong was universally the favorite layover destination. The novel showcases how these women were pioneers during an era of extremely limited career opportunities for women, making them early examples of female empowerment in the workplace.

Come Fly with Me includes low-heat romantic storylines alongside its focus on female empowerment and friendship. Camille Di Maio emphasizes that romance and women seizing opportunities don't have to come at the expense of each other. The inclusion of romance is historically accurate, as most Pan Am stewardesses in that era married passengers after an average career span of 18 months. The novel balances women's independence and career ambitions with authentic romantic elements true to the jet-set period.

Come Fly with Me shares Camille Di Maio's signature style of meticulously researched historical fiction with strong female protagonists found in her other works like The Beautiful Strangers and The First Emma. While The Beautiful Strangers explored Old Hollywood at the Hotel del Coronado and The First Emma centered on a brewery owner during Prohibition, Come Fly with Me focuses on the glamorous Pan Am era of the 1960s. All of Di Maio's novels feature themes of women overcoming obstacles, romance, and rich historical settings with compelling real-life inspiration.