Falling into Flight untangles a daughter's complicated relationship with immigrant parents -- her angry Russian mother and quiet Finnish father. And it offers insight into a life experienced through the arts: first as a young enthusiastic dancer, then as a thoughtful--and equally enthusiastic--dance critic. Shortly after her parents die, Kaija begins to experience increasingly debilitating physical ailments that have no clear diagnosis. After many referrals to specialists, her doctor suggests psychotherapy. Initially reluctant and disbelieving, Kaija embarks on a five-year journey into a past she has long suppressed Along the way, the reader is taken not only into the troubling world of her childhoood, dominated by a tragic and unpredictable mother, but also into the magical world of dance.