---
id: 20100101_flying_free_overview
title: COUNCIL - Flying Free - Life After Crisis - Overview
category: Wisdom
predicted_narrative_arc: crisis-to-free-flight
sentiment: Encouraging
emotions:
- Hopeful
- Practical
- Faithful
keypoints:
- Flying Free helps readers extract historic baggage so they can take off toward God’s purpose
- Aviation principles (payload, altitude, instruments, wingman) map directly onto crisis, tragedy, and career loss
- Endorsed by Pastor Robert Emmitt as mentor wisdom from five lifetimes in one
- Bobby Hillin calls it motivation for anyone walking through crisis
- Dr. Dave Earley frames it as a reservoir for facing tragedy and resuming full flight
summary: >
  Overview deposit for Dean Rush's book Flying Free - Life After Crisis (2010).
  Captures core messages on leaving past baggage, navigating life's turbulence with
  aviation metaphors, and published endorsements from pastoral, motorsports, and seminary
  leaders.
tags:
- flying-free
- dean-rush
- crisis-recovery
- aviation-metaphor
- leadership
- faith
- book-overview
sycophancy: 0
truth_score: 9
entropy: 2
sample: false
consent: owner_approved
agent: council
created: '2010-01-01'
updated: '2026-08-25T18:00:00Z'
vault_stage: 07_CODEX
headwaters: COUNCIL
prefix: COUNCIL
enrich_status: ok
enrich_blockers: []
enrich_method: manual
pipeline_filename: COUNCIL_2010-01-01_flying-free-life-after-crisis-overview.md
source_kind: book_excerpt
proposed_topic: Wisdom
lane: Wisdom
voice: desk
active_voice: desk
voices:
- desk
corpus_topic: Wisdom
content_status: active
date: '2010-01-01'
---

# Flying Free: Life After Crisis (2010)

Public overview of Dean Rush’s book for Council Asker.

## Excerpts and core messages

### On extracting yourself from past baggage

> "Flying Free is a compilation of experiences and ideas to help reach goals we didn't dream possible. We can soar to new heights when God is our wingman... It is tough to takeoff and fly when we are overburdened with problems. If we are going to achieve free flight, climb, and soar, we must plan to extract ourselves from those historic problems that prevent us from flying to God's purpose for our lives."

### On navigating life’s turbulence

In the book, Dean uses aviation principles — calculating payload weight, maintaining altitude, reading navigation instruments, and trusting your wingman — as direct analogies for facing crisis, personal tragedy, and financial or career loss.

## Endorsements and reviews

### Robert Emmitt (Pastor, Community Bible Church, San Antonio, TX)

> "Dean Rush is an angel without wings and one of the finest mentors in America. He has packed five lifetimes into one: family man, fighter pilot, aviation entrepreneur, aviation executive and pastor. He is my friend and co-worker. I get to enjoy his grace, wisdom and common sense every day. And now, you do too!"

### Bobby Hillin (NASCAR Driver & Business Owner)

> "This is a must read. Dean's description of his life, and lessons learned, is not only captivating, but will provide the proper motivation for anyone going through any type crisis! I only wish I had read this book nine years ago."

### Dr. Dave Earley (Director, Chair of Pastoral Leadership & Church Planting, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary)

> "Dean Rush is a wonderfully wise and skillfully competent leader and pilot. In Flying Free, he provides us a rich reservoir to draw from as we learn to face personal tragedy and resume full flight."


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# flying free section one read by dean