World War 2 rages and in Brooklyn, Judith is plagued by doubts about her marriage and life, when an old love turns her life upside down.

The world is fighting World War 2, but during the sweltering summer of 1943, on the American home front, Judith Weissman feels trapped by her mundane office job, her lackluster marriage, and the gossipy neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a mostly Jewish enclave. When her upstairs neighbor unexpectedly decides to take a step off her fifth-floor fire escape and plunge to her death, Judith is forced to realize how short life really is and how much she wants to change it.

Judith crosses paths with an old crush from school, returning wounded war hero Bobby Levitt, and she suddenly and desperately wants to regain her romantic dreams. But Bobby has been changed by the war, his injuries, and a guilty secret that tortures and embitters him.

In the midst of their affair, Judith finally questions her identity and her role in this war-torn world, knowing that nothing and no one will ever be the same again.

Flying Out of Brooklyn
by Beverly Magid

Praise for Flying Out of Brooklyn “An evocative, heartfelt rendering of the American home front in 1943, and the coming-of-age of a wife and husband at a time when young people unquestioningly took on expected adult roles, only later to struggle with issues of identity and individual desire. Flying Out of Brooklyn reminds us that simpler times were not necessarily easier times.”
— Janet Fitch, author of White Oleander and Paint It Black

Flying Out of Brooklyn shines a light on the often neglected home front during World War II. It is spare, fast-paced, and illuminating.”
— Denise Nicholas, author of the award-winning novel Freshwater Road

“Flying Out of Brooklyn is an amazing trip back in time, to a rich human, ethnic reality that once existed in New York that I grew up in. The book compelled me to read it in one sitting. It’s a wonderful read and I heartily recommend it.”
— Martin Landau, Academy Award-winning actor

A woman seeks to escape her humdrum life in World War II-era Brooklyn. It is 1943, and 25-year-old Judith Weissman is not happy. Despite having a loving husband (Marvin, a butcher) and a stable job (secretary at an insurance office), she cannot let go of the worldchanging dreams she harbored as a teenager… A heartfelt and ambitious novel…
— Kirkus Discoveries