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Fly Like a Girl: One Woman’s Dramatic Fight in Afghanistan and On the Home Front

This is an inspiring biographical story of Air National Guard Major Mary Jennings Hegar who was was shot down while on a Medevac mission in Afghanistan in 2009. She was wounded but managed to save the lives of her crew and their patients. For these actions she earned the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor Device. The experiences Hegar had were hard for her to later talk about and she states that the book was incredibly difficult for her to write. The draft had to be vetted by the Department of Defense to assure accuracy. The reader will notice redactions (blackouts of text) that the Department of Defense made to mark words and people’s names.

Following this mission, Hegar embarked on a new mission which was to convince the U.S. Government to allow women to serve openly on the front lines for the first time in US history. She sued the U.S. Air Force to remove the Combat Exclusion Policy. Her story of determination, bravery, and justice for women is being made into a major motion picture.

The book includes exclusive photographs, a discussion guide, and a Q & A that the author wrote specifically for teen readers.

Although not mentioned in the book, the author is running for U.S. Senate for the state of Texas in the 2020 General Election. She is using the name M.J. Hegar.