Readback: A Marine Aviator’s Manual for Navigating Life’s Hardest Lessons by Col. Ryan A. Cherry delivers an unexpectedly philosophical memoir, with battle-tested wisdom for life’s inevitable trials.
Each of the 22 chapters details a recollection from the author’s two-plus decades as a helicopter pilot, squadron commander, major and eventually colonel. These anecdotes range from moonless missions on Iraq’s border to commanding officers’ tough-love insight. Told in roughly chronological order, the story delivers a portrait of service, sacrifice and advancement.
Cherry notes that he wrote the book as a catharsis for himself, a historical record for his family, a guide for service members, and encouragement for civilians facing myriad challenges in their lives. While the stories are entrenched in military mindset, Cherry increases accessibility by including “Readbacks.” These chapter-ending summaries are essentially distilled and “de-militarized” versions of the lessons outlined in the chapter.
While service members and their families are his obvious audience, Cherry’s wisdom is universal, including the criticality of outside support, the power of honest self-assessment, the precarious balance of personal and professional life and the value of being a good human, even when no one’s watching. The career anecdotes are compelling, but they can be dense for those unfamiliar with ranks, procedures and military jargon, making the summaries necessary and enlightening.
The writing is straightforward and informative but lacking much description, leaving the prose feeling procedural rather than vivid. Given Cherry’s profession and the book’s serious content, this approach is unsurprising, but it can create a monotonous reading experience at times.
That said, the intensity of recollections is visceral, from his narrowly avoiding helicopter collisions in Iraq to potentially deadly mishaps in Okinawa. Each chapter reinforces the pressures and life-or-death responsibilities of command, as well as the complex consequences to one’s mental health and capacity to lead.
Wide-ranging in its wisdom and sharply self-aware, this book is a testament to service, perseverance and the journeys that shape every life.