Reeve Lindbergh

Reeve Morrow Lindbergh (born October 2, 1945) is an American author from Caledonia County, Vermont, who grew up in Darien, Connecticut as the daughter of aviator Charles Lindbergh (1902–1974) and author Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906–2001). She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1968.

Lindbergh writes of her experiences growing up in the household of her famous father – with echoes of his famous transatlantic flight and the kidnapping of her eldest brother, events which occurred years before she was born. In Two Lives (Brigantine Media; 2018), Lindbergh reflects on how she navigates her role as the public face of arguably "the most famous family of the twentieth century," while leading a "very quiet existence in rural Vermont."

Reeve Lindbergh's parents, Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, were considered a "golden couple". Her father's famous solo, non-stop transatlantic flight from New York to Paris in 1927 occurred 18 years before she was born. Hailed as a hero, Charles went on to marry the daughter of wealthy businessman Dwight Morrow, then serving as the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico.

In 1932, the Lindbergh's firstborn, Charles Lindbergh Jr., was kidnapped from their home in Hopewell, New Jersey—and killed—13 years before Reeve was born. Reeve's parents never discussed the kidnapping with their children. As she relates, "As the youngest, it's been easiest for me. My brothers and older sister grew up under the shadow of the kidnapping and the war years."

In The Names of the Mountains Lindbergh reveals what life as a Lindbergh was like after the death of her father through a fictional family. Under a Wing: A Memoir recounts Lindbergh's life as a child growing up in Darien, Connecticut with her "loving but stern father”. Charles did not allow his children to drink soda or eat candy, and he favored family discussion over watching television. He directed his family with a set of hard-and-fast rules. "There were only two ways of doing things—Father's way and the wrong way," Lindbergh notes in her book.^{[citation needed]}

The build-up to World War II brought more controversy to the Lindbergh household. Charles Lindbergh was an outspoken isolationist and critic of U.S. military involvement against Nazi Germany. Putting her father's views in perspective, Reeve states,

Even though my father's views were controversial, he represented a lot of the thinking of the day. Isolationism was characteristic among many Americans at that time, otherwise President Roosevelt wouldn't have had such a tough time swaying public opinion.

Due to the fame and controversy surrounding the Lindberghs, the family grew up outside the public eye in Darien, Connecticut. As Reeve explains it, "My parents represented this country in an extraordinary way and people identified with them in a very personal way." Lindbergh remembers her family leaving restaurants during a meal if her father was recognized. As she recounts: