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Comments on the “Surviving Uncertainty” E-Book

We’ve received lots of positive feedback via email on Lane’s E-Book, Surviving Uncertainty. We’re enjoying the email, and thought readers would like to have a place on the site where they can leave comments and discuss their reactions with each other.
If you haven’t read the book yet, request a free copy. It’s full of thought-provoking ideas about how to navigate uncertain times and make your life a rewarding adventure.
If you have read the book, we’d love to know what you think. Did it resonate with you? Was it helpful? Did it raise any questions? Prompt any new ideas? Let us know in a comment below.

{ 27 comments… add one }
  • Buster Offutt April 12, 2009, 6:43 pm

    Just fininshed reading Lanes’ ” Surviving Uncertainty”
    A very good read. I have enjoyed her articles thru the years in Flying and other magazine features.
    She is a talented writer and it is obvious that she writes from experince; especially the areas concerning aviation as one would have to have been in a cockpit to describe the feelings she recounts. Most pilots have had some of those feelings at one time or another in flight.
    Thank you ,Lane for your book it really does help in these uncertain times that are seemingly more apparent now than ever.
    Fly safe fly often Buster Offutt ( KGDJ ) N220RH

  • Bob Thomason April 16, 2009, 8:40 am

    I enjoyed the ebook and forwarded it to a group at my church that is helping members who’ve lost their jobs. While I’m not among the unfortunate, I have had times in my life where I wished I’d known to simply ask myself “Are you OK right now”. It helps put things in perspective and stiffle the panic that may be rising within.

  • DossyHola May 3, 2009, 10:00 am

    hm… funny

  • scott e. May 13, 2009, 10:54 am

    starting a new site dedicated to entropy, (measure of lost energy) new concept r&d….long range recovery….. vermontropy… firstingreen.net

  • Chris May 30, 2009, 3:27 pm

    Great book! I really enjoyed Lane’s book. It is always good to be inspired when beginning a new and difficult challenge. I’ll be starting a new graduate program in the fall and am both nervous and excited about the prospects it will offer. Lane’s method for dealing with uncertainty will definitely be a helpful strategy for me this fall. Thanks again.

  • Forrest June 12, 2009, 9:36 am

    I am taking action. Thanks for giving your book for free. I could not have read it anyonther way. I am flat broke, homeless and eating at a shelter. I spend my days at the public libary – I read your artical in Flying. I had to read the e book in two parts , had to wait a day – in that day, I was focused on wanting to finish – and for a time, stopped my distructive spin of self pity. Thank you.

  • Art Bird June 12, 2009, 10:29 am

    I realy enjoyed it. I sent it on to many friends.
    Art

  • Larry Kennedy June 19, 2009, 1:38 pm

    Lane,
    I am in the process of reading your book and enjoying it. I am a fellow Grumman pilot (AA5A-HC).

  • Tom Haydon June 22, 2009, 4:08 pm

    Thank you Lane, for another excellent book. You bring passion, enlightenment, homor, and an entirely new perspective to adventuring. I look forward to seeing you at Oshkosh.

  • John J. Brems June 23, 2009, 5:49 pm

    An exceptionally profound – yet beautifully written – guide that everyone should read. Whether a committed ditch digger or nuclear physicist ,the wisdom and insight that Lane pens in this phenominal manuscript should be the ‘textbook’ of every “contemporary philosphy of life class.”

  • Brett Harkins June 25, 2009, 12:06 pm

    A great book! I have been in some sticky situations flying as well and nothing makes you think “crystal clear” like an in flight emergency. I turn straight to Lane’s article in flying every month when I get Flying magazine. I will pass the book on. Good Job.

  • Ron trace June 26, 2009, 3:05 pm

    Talk about motivational! In times like these, we get stuck in the “woe is me syndrome” and can’t see the forest for the trees, and it takes looking at life and it’s challenges from a different perspective. Lane, you have done that in “Surviving Uncertainty”. You have put a different spin on that “forest” and given a way to look at problems with “attitude” as a focus and ideas for solutions to “see past the trees”. A lot of the time hearing the same old sayings like “no pain, no gain”, they loose their power because they have been said so often. How about “for every adversity there is a seed of equivalent benefit”. when you hear things like that they make you stop and think! Your style of writing causes that to happen. I have read your articles in Flying since you started writing for them. You have a way of articulating thoughts and feelings as very few writers can do. I applaud you for writing “Surviving Uncertainty” and making it available to us. I hope it reaches many more people than just us pilots.
    Keep up the great work!

  • Norm Wagner June 27, 2009, 7:16 pm

    Great read … read it in one sitting. Riviting. (Appropriate for us seniors, over 70, too.
    — private pilot

  • Glenn July 3, 2009, 5:40 am

    I just finished “Surviving Uncertainty” and really enjoyed it, I always enjoy Lane’s articles in “Flying”. Her writing really hit the nail on the head for me, I am currently working to revamp my main business of aircraft charter which has been so beaten up by these economic times, and we are adding some new divisons, including flight training, aircraft maintenance and my favorite a biplane ride operation. I will be bringing my 1927 biplane from Seattle to South Florida and this book is the perfect preflight, I will bring it with me on my trip. I have shared the book with all my friends and family to help them understand why I do what I do. Great read!

  • David A. Solley July 4, 2009, 11:08 am

    Thank-you. I enjoyed the book and will forward it to my friends. Surfer Dave

  • Niels Andersen July 15, 2009, 7:44 am

    I just downloaded “Surviving Uncertainty: Taking a Hero’s Journey”, so I have not read it yet. However, I am a “Flying” magazine subscriber, and when my favorite author, “Baxseat” columnist Gordon Baxter passed away four years ago, I thought the magazine might as well leave a couple of blank pages in every issue, because I didn’t think anyone would be able to fill his shoes. Well, Lane Wallace fills his shoes! So I know in advance that I am going to enjoy the book. Thank you very much, I look forward to reading it. I am going to show the condensed version, the “Flying Lessons” article in the July 2009 issue of “Flying”, to my beloved partner in life, my wife of 38 years. We were still teenagers in 1965 when, as a newly-minted private pilot, I took her flying in a brand new Cessna 172.

  • Sharon July 20, 2009, 2:15 pm

    Great..Great..Great…This book can be soooo many things to so many people. Something for everyone. I really took my time reading each idea and found myself forwarding it to people as I thought the words were just right for them at the moment. I have lived my life with the philosophy of being open to all that comes my way. I hope your words travel far and wide so others can experience a open and rich life. With gratitude…….

  • Dewey July 20, 2009, 7:14 pm

    Thanks for making this available.
    It encourages me to keep stretching, even as I slow down.
    That cliff jump can be leaving an angry marriage, making that first trip overseas, or many things you have mentioned. Vacations have turned to adventures by mishaps, and are more memorable.
    I can remember the “failures,” like turning back at 17.5k feet on Kili, or even minor ones like climbing back up a mile when a non-trail got to perilous for my personal minimum.
    Awhile ago, the NYT ran 6-word self-descriptions. I adopt the one that said “Many risky decisions, very few regrets.”
    After your e-book, I’ll keep planning to fly across the country.

  • Stu August 2, 2009, 5:59 pm

    Really a great e-book. What makes it so interesting for me is having read Lane’s stories in Flying for a number of years. Being familiar with her style makes for easy reading and believeable common sense she brings to all of her adventures. Thanks and keep up the good work.

  • Drew (Wingnut) August 3, 2009, 4:16 pm

    G’day Lane, goodonya! For years I have enjoyed the personable, evocative experiential tones you weave into your Flying column, your light and easy conversational styles that convey connections and the fellowship of aviators. Here we see you extending these approaches in a work built around the allegory of the Hero’s quest, rich in metaphors from legends, life and flying experiences. You spin a good yarn, the impressions and connotations are emotionally compelling and a fun read. There’s much good stuff here for anyone interested in mentoring and coaching.
    As a GA pilot, fellow AA-5 (Traveler) owner, lifetime glider pilot and CFI, I related strongly to your messages for life from flying experiences. I also found this resonated with my experiences of using a professional executive coach, who had the honesty to help me face difficult and confronting issues, understand setbacks and apply their lessons. This coach was my ‘Yoda’, and yes I had to learn to listen carefuly. Whilst I am opportunist by nature and always enjoy the quest, the chase, the return or closure is also vital – finding the security from within, despite imperfections, and making it work.
    It’s also worth remembering that even though you or I may be going through major life changes, needing to find a new path, needing a sage advisor or Yoda, we are also still able to coach and guide others. At times we may feel uncertain or even lost, but people may still seek our direction and even mentoring – the processes of reflection, analysis and questioning to help another can help crystallise where your own path lies. Although you did not say this explicitly, I suspect you have found the same. So, as they say down here in Oz, goodonya mate!

  • Mike August 11, 2009, 6:07 am

    I was sitting here reading your eBook when a motorcade pulled into the airport parking lot. The Dalai Lama was being delivered for a flight to Lausanne, Switzerland. I couldn’t help but think how much he would agree with what you say in the book.
    After his flight departed I sent out an email about the unexpected encounter to some of my friends.
    The first reply that I received asked me a single question, “Did you learn anything?”
    I felt like I had made one complete circle of a journey within about 30 minutes.
    I really enjoyed your book and have sent copies to many of my friends. Unfortunately, I did not have the Dalai Lama’s email address, so you will have to send a copy to him directly.

  • Ted Baumgart September 4, 2009, 9:46 pm

    Light and quick reading, positive and inspirational.

  • Lorelle Berkeley September 9, 2009, 8:17 pm

    I have just finished the book and think it is very helpful. Similar to another comment on the book, something as simple as asking “Are you OK right now?” is very powerful, and I found the ideas in the book very useful. The author seems to have a good ability to put into words my feelings in uncertain situations in a way I could not. One constructive criticism, which other readers may or may not share: the author uses examples from movies like Star Wars, rather than from stories about real people, for the most part. These examples, no doubt, get her point across, but I think I would find it more inspiring to hear more real stories, in addition to her own. Going through an uncertain time myself, I needed to hear what the author was saying, but the Star Wars theme seemed to make light of the point she was trying to get across. I realize this is one of the things that other readers might of liked about the book, but that’s just my 2 cents.

  • Jan Gilhousen September 29, 2009, 10:56 pm

    Dear Lane,
    Thank you for sharing your adventures. I have enjoyed your writing in FLYING. Your synopsis of your experiences gives me a tool to reflect on my 58 years of flight adventures. We are lucky to see the world from our perspective on high. Gil Robb Wilson would be proud of you.
    Jan Gilhousen
    #126404

  • Jack Frisch October 3, 2009, 12:28 pm

    Loved the book! but then I expected to as soon as I received the note about it and saw who it was by: I’ve been reading and enjoying Lane (including at EAA Airventure) for quite a while now. She has always been able to give me some of the *kick* of flying even tho I’m not a pilot (except on my flight simulator) — did briefly when I was 16 but at 80 and no money haven’t got back at it. Perhaps the book will help me do it with an ultralight, after all that’s what the book’s about!
    thanks for the good stuff.
    jack frisch
    Green Bay, WI

  • Paul Peterson December 29, 2009, 10:00 am

    I will come back to this book again after my next adventure. It is the kind of book that provides much food for thought. New adventures will provide new wisdom, and this new wisdom will need to be reviewed. I appreciate the framework of ideas and thought from which to examine adventures in the coming New Year (2010) and decade.

  • Jean Morreau January 30, 2010, 10:17 pm

    Enjoyed this book immensely and will come back to it to ponder some its wisdoms. I read it from my computer to save paper, but have now printed it out so that it is easier to share with my sons.
    I want to prompt them to action, experience and thoughtful reflection, just as this book does.
    Thanks

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