⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️My review: Amazing book. While it is essentially a memoir, it is also a lesson in how drug smuggling worked in the 70's and 80's and the fine line between government and smugglers. The author's father Lamar was larger than life to her as a child, and to everyone around him. He had rules and parameters for his illegal activities and only worked with those he trusted. In looking at history it is easy to judge a man who brings drugs into the country and who employs his brother, son and best friends. Looking at the same man as a daughter who worshipped him paints a different picture.
The fine line between legal and illegal, felons and officials is a mystery that the author needs to study. I was fascinated throughout the entire story. While some questions remain not fully answered, the legacy of Lamar is bittersweet.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Publishing for an advance digital copy in exchange for my review.

Yet another book I’ve read this year that brings to mind the question of what this country and the world would be like if we’d elected the honest man instead of the showman in 1980. “No Ordinary Bird” is not just about a young woman’s struggle to find out who her beloved father was, but herself, and in that journey she discovers truths that reveal exactly how corrupt the Reagan administration was, and it’s brutal impact not only on world history, but one American family. A terrible, awful, but ultimately beautiful story of love, history, and the search for self in 21st century America. Artis Henderson’s mastery of the written word is evident in the careful, methodical way she quietly reveals her own memories, enhanced by conversations, public records, news articles, and descriptions found in photographs that bring the character of her father into sharp focus, with loving attention to the rest of her family and the friends who helped her along the way. Five well deserved stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I just finished No Ordinary Bird.
I didn't expect nearly as much as I got from this book. I had read the synopsis, and so I thought I knew much of what the book would cover, but the author brilliantly takes the reader in a variety of places as the story unfolds due to her decision to dig for the truth. Her painful unraveling of history and family,
The first 1/2 of the. book is engaging and interesting. The second half goes into several areas which I won't list so there are no spoilers for other readers.
But : the author covers lots of ground in the second 1/2 and I feel very moved and satisfied after finishing the book ( in less than 2 days ).
It's a quick, yet involved story that captured me and never let up.
I'm dancing around with my review because I want to say so much but I want to allow other readers a similar experience of uncovering that I had.

Excellent story; well written. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC These opinions are my own and given in exchange for the early availability of the book.

This book was less of a biography and more of a mystery to be solved, but that made it more intense. The writing is technically sound, but I wish it had less of a robotic voice. Perhaps that’s how the author is trying to maintain a distance and present the book methodically and unemotionally? In the last few chapters that seemed to change a bit when she was coming to terms with some of her feelings.

The research is impeccable, and the breadth of people who were consulted for information is impressive. Of course, there is so much that’s unknowable about the final outcome of her father’s life, but the author was thorough in searching for the facts. The book was fascinating, and I wish it could have been longer, but the end was perfection.

It’s engaging and informative, though I wish there was more on Terry’s perspective. A great read overall!

A big thank-you to HarperCollins & NetGalley for this ARC! No Ordinary Bird is set to publish on September 2, 2025.

No Ordinary Bird is a memoir by Artis Henderson about her father, Lamar Chester, and the plane crash that took his life in 1985. The book is split into two 'arcs' after opening on the traumatic event - the 'before' arc, where Lamar Chester is a poor farm boy turned pilot and part-time marijuana smuggler, to the 'after' arc, where the author begins to piece together her past with her father.

I really liked this book. It's short but is still a solid page-turner. It starts small, exclusively honing in on Lamar Chester before expanding outwards into the politics of the late 70s to early 80s. I think to an older reader who lived through those eras, this information might be redundant, but as a younger person born in the mid 90s, my interest was piqued. I had heard about the Iran-Contra Affair and the role the U.S. played in Guatemalan, Nicaraguan, and Bahamian politics in history classes, but this provided a more comprehensive summary, and adds a human to it by connecting it to Lamar Chester.

I think the only thing that I have to say negative about this book is that I wanted to know more about Terry's perspective, the son from the first marriage that Lamar took on his transports. Seeing as how he was more involved in his father's business than the author was, it would've been cool to hear from his side about how he felt regarding his father and smuggling. But I understand that this is Artis' story to tell, and that Terry might have not wanted to detail too much about that part of his life.

No Ordinary Bird is a beautifully written and deeply moving memoir that captivated me from the first page. Even knowing how the story ends, I found myself compelled to keep reading, eager to understand the choices and moments that shaped the journey. Henderson masterfully reveals how a single decision can alter the course of an entire family, weaving together personal history, emotional depth, and reflection with grace. The pacing is steady and engaging, and the backstory unfolds in a way that feels intimate and universal. A powerful reminder of the weight of our choices—and the resilience that follows.

No Ordinary Bird reminded me a lot of the story shared about another smuggler during this time in the movie American Made. No Ordinary Bird is told by Lamar’s youngest daughter. Since her father died when she was only 5, she did the work in researching all the details of his life and his experience going from a commercial pilot with Eastern Airlines to smuggling drugs.
It was told through her lens, and the research, memories and details were compelling.

"He was propelled by a macho insatiability that was everywhere in the 1970s, from Burt Reynolds to muscle cars to the ongoing war in Vietnam. It would carry the United States into the madness of the 1980s, paving the way for Wall Street scandals, the Gordon Gekko era, and the Ronald Reagan presidency."

This certainly says something about the author's father and his continued drive to achieve within the drug smuggling community. While these are external influences, he also had more immediate factors in his environment (family dynamics, etc). The author's quest to understand her father and therefore herself and her place in the world is a wonderful mix of personal reflection, and historical fact.

This was a fascinating book! How well do we really know our parents? Especially a parent that might have been taken from us at a young age? Artis Henderson uses this book to explore the rumors about her father, his death, and the complexities of being a good person while being on the other side of the law.

When Artis was very young, her father took her up in his plane (a normal occurrence for them), but this time, the plane crashed, killing her father, but leaving her to survive with multiple injuries. At the time of the crash there were incitements against her father for running drugs on his plane into the US. After his death, her mother isolated them from all his known associates.

We not only learn about what kind of man Artis' father was, but we are also privy to the conspiracies and the fact that the government might have had more to cover up than to prosecute.

Not only was this book interesting, but it brought forth the humanity of her father. Not all people who break the law are bad people, some just want a better life for their family (and then get in too deep?). The first half was good, the second half was exciting!

Thank you to Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book. The opinions are all my own.