An Impossible Distance to Fall, Paperback

A story about falling--falling from grace, falling in love--as well as soaring to heights you wouldn't know were possible if you never stepped out into thin air.

A story about falling--falling from grace, falling in love--as well as soaring to heights you wouldn't know were possible if you never stepped out into thin air.

It's 1930, and Birdie William's life has crashed along with the stock market. Her father's bank has failed, and worse, he's disappeared along with his Jenny biplane.

When Birdie sees a leaflet for a barnstorming circus with a picture of Dad's plane on it, she goes to Coney Island in search of answers.

The barnstorming circus has lady pilots, daredevil stuntmen, fire-spinners, and wing walkers, and Birdie is instantly enchanted--especially with a girl pilot named June. Birdie doesn't find her father, but after stumbling across clues that suggest he's gone to Chicago, she figures she'll hitch a ride with the traveling circus doing what she does best: putting on a convincing act and insisting on being star of the show.

But the overconfidence that made her belle of the ball during her enchanted youth turns out to be far too reckless without the safety net of her charmed childhood, and a couple of impulsive missteps sends her and her newfound community spinning into freefall.

Miriam McNamara was born in Ireland, raised in the Southern United States, and now lives in the Midwest. She has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has never flown a biplane, but she loves to dance. She is also the author of The Unbinding of Mary Reade. She lives in Minneapolis, but also calls Asheville, North Carolina home.