Miles to Go Before I Sleep

October 2, 1995
On November 23, 1985, EgyptAir Flight 648, bound from Athens to Cairo, was hijacked and forced to land on Malta. The hijackers, members of a dissident Palestinian faction, shot several passengers and shoved them down the boarding ramp. The drama ended nearly 24 hours later when Egyptian commandos stormed the plane; 59 people died in the shootout. One of the survivors was a 31-year-old special-education teacher from Texas named Jackie Pflug. Shot in the head by a hijacker, she later suffered epileptic seizures, severe depression, visual and hearing problems and memory loss. Her compelling memoir recounts the hijacking in dramatic detail, but even more dramatic is her account of the struggle to recover her physical and mental health. Invited to speak before groups about her ordeal and its aftermath, Pflug discovered the therapeutic benefits of reaching out to help others; her motivational tapes have become widely popular. Written with Peter Kizilos, her memoir is an inspirational chronicle of personal tragedy surmounted by raw courage. Photos. 20,000 first printing; $30,000 ad/promo.