I met Tiffany Hawk on a press trip back in 2005, when I used to do a lot of travel writing. We were both young journalists, exploring Holland together, eating Dutch pancakes and walking the cobblestone streets. We stayed in touch and she later became an editor and friend. I remember she was working on a book over the years, as so many of my writer friends have done over the years, but hers actually got published — and it’s fantastic. I just read it in two sittings within 24 hours and highly recommend that you do the same.

Love Me Anyway is a coming-of-age novel about love, family and life at 35,000 feet. Tiffany, who really was a flight attendant for United, did an amazing job of capturing those twentysomething years when we are all trying to figure out who we are and what we want, as well as the idiosyncrasies of a career that’s, literallly, up in the air. The book is funny, charming, heartbreaking and the perfect summer read.

Congratulations Tiffany!