Dreams Take Flight: The Story of Deaf Pilot Nellie Zabel Willhite (Own Voices, Own Stories)

Born in 1892, Nellie Zabel Willhite contracted an illness that left her unable to hear. Deaf children at this time were not seen as they are today, but Nellie’s mother knew her daughter could do anything. She taught Nellie to communicate through sign language. When Nellie’s mother died, Nellie’s father sent Nellie to a school for the deaf far from home. There, she could not use sign language, but her teachers believed in her, teaching her to read lips and speak by noticing how the air tickles her throat as she spoke. Nellie again proved she could do anything. Later, she worked at an airport and dreamed of flying. Eventually, Nellie began taking lessons and overcame the challenge of being unable to communicate with her instructor. In the end, Nellie became the first woman pilot in South Dakota and the first deaf pilot in the United States.

Brittany Richman has written a thoughtful biography of a woman who overcame significant obstacles to succeed at each stage of her life. Willhite’s life has great lessons for anyone who has ever thought a goal they wanted to achieve was impossible.