Lady MacGyver
Unbelievable Stories With Altitude
Before the keynote, there was the book.
Michelle spent 23 years flying aircraft. Quite a lot happened.
She flew small aircraft solo across the Pacific, survived a lightning strike, dealt with emergencies, difficult people, terrible advice, cancer, career setbacks and a few situations that probably seemed like a good idea at the time.
Lady MacGyver is what happened when she finally wrote it all down.
All of it real.
All of it hers.
Every story she tells on stage.
Lady MacGyver starts with a seven-year-old girl who wanted to fly and follows the rather unlikely route she took to eventually becoming a Boeing 737 Captain.
There are Pacific crossings in tiny aircraft, lightning strikes, fuel problems, passengers behaving badly, people telling her she couldn’t or shouldn’t, motherhood, breast cancer and the occasional spectacularly bad decision.
Some of it is about flying.
A lot of it isn’t.
It’s a memoir about what happened along the way, including the parts that didn’t go particularly well.
Not a leadership parable.
"Honest, inspiring, raw at times, this book is a must a read! Michelle's experience in the airline industry and in life is truly amazing! Many ups and downs told with humour and good grace but the overriding message to learn from the journey really strikes a chord." - Robert Dunn
For 23 years, Michelle had a front-row seat to an industry most people only ever see from row 24.
Lady MacGyver is the story of what happened in the cockpit, behind the cockpit door and throughout the long, often ridiculous road to becoming a Captain.
There are emergencies, Pacific crossings, passengers behaving badly, battles she probably should have walked away from, people she wishes she had, cancer, motherhood, career highs and some spectacular lows.
Michelle tells it as it happened, including the bits that don’t make her look particularly good.
It’s funny, raw and occasionally unbelievable.
And it’s all true.
THE STORIES BEHIND LADY MACGYVER
What readers have said
"I cried, one minute I was laughing then I couldn’t believe it the tears were coming out."
- Allan Sicard
"What an amazing story and inspiration. Having you narate the book makes me feel like I've had a long DM and a special friend."
- Vanessa Nieuwenhuis
“I laughed (a lot), but there were also tears of sadness, happiness and even anger… I didn’t think I would be able to relate to so many of your stories. You wrote an excellent book, Michelle. I’ll be recommending it to everyone.”
- Kara Blackburn
"Once again thank you for sharing it. I will certainly be recommending this story to all of the female student pilots I know no matter what mode of aircraft they travel in."
- Rebecca F
