The Long Flight Home - Paperback

Aubrey, Beth (Bb): - Beth was born in a small coal camp town in Southeastern Kentucky. Motherless at age 19, and a divorced single parent at age 27, she obtained a degree in coal mining technology and became credentialed as a safety inspector and mine safety/first aid trainer. Carrying on her father and grandfather's legacy in coal mining, she became one of a handful of women in Kentucky who obtained First Class Underground Mine Foreman's Certification in the 1980's.When demand for coal took a downturn, she rebounded with a career change to nursing. She completed two nursing programs, working full time as a nurse while her children completed high school. Together, she and her children relocated to Lexington, KY to attend a large university to pursue their baccalaureate degrees while sharing a small off-campus apartment. Beth juggled a full-time job as a Registered Nurse while completing her third nursing program as a full time student and earning a baccalaureate degree. Later she completed advanced certification classes in the specialties of wound, ostomy and continence management. She was passionate in her mission to heal patients with chronic wounds, taking that role into the prison system where she started a wound clinic to care for inmates with complex and chronic wounds. She maintained Board Certification in wound care for over twenty years, serving as a nurse consultant, nurse educator and legal expert witness in wound management.Over her 38-year nursing career, she worked in a variety of practice settings, volunteered on several international medical mission teams, eventually retiring as a correctional nurse. Beth still works part time as a Registered Nurse because she still enjoys the profession of nursing and considers it a life calling. She devoted most of her life to raising her children, pursuing her nursing education and career. Overcoming adversity time and again, Beth refused to quit and allow failure to define her. Her personal life was on a hold for over 27 years after a painful divorce. In 2015, everything changed.Aubrey, Jim (Jd): - Jim is an English-born commissioned and juried artist and writer. He was born in a large fishing port in the Northwest of England, instilling a lifelong love for the sea. After completing Nautical College, where he completed Navigation and Radio Officer courses, his career dream of being Captain of his own ship was shattered by a correctable vision problem. Consequently, he chose a twelve-year career path in the Royal Air Force where he specialized in electronics and ground radar systems. Through his military career, he traveled extensively through England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Malta and Northern Ireland. He enjoys being creative with words and color and has written short stories and poetry, expressing his emotions on paper. Many of his artistic works showcase pastel landscapes and bold acrylic abstracts, most of which come from his own imagination. "I believe writing is creating art with words rather than color. The difference with writing is the picture is in the reader's imagination, rather than visual." After leaving the RAF, Jim worked for several companies as an electronics and software engineer until his retirement in 2013. It was during that period that Jim composed most of his short stories and poetry. In 2016, he emigrated to the USA where he now lives with his wife "B.B." Aubrey in Kentucky.