Step behind the checkpoint with The Checkpoint Chronicles: Behind the Blue Gloves—a raw, revealing, and often darkly funny memoir from a former TSA insider.

For ten years, author Mae Covington worked on the front lines of America's airports as a Transportation Security Officer, Lead TSO, and Threat Assessment Program Assistant. She started at just eighteen years old, pulling on the infamous blue gloves and stepping into a job that millions of travelers love to hate. What she found inside was a world of chaos, bureaucracy, camaraderie, and burnout that few outsiders ever glimpse.

From middle-of-the-night alarms to pipe bomb false alerts, from passengers who surprised her with kindness to managers who thrived on politics, Covington shares the real human stories behind the conveyor belts and body scanners. This isn't a PR-approved government manual—it's a candid memoir about what it means to work a thankless job under the constant pressure of public scrutiny, federal rules, and real security threats.

With sharp wit and emotional honesty, Behind the Blue Gloves explores:

Perfect for readers of memoirs like Heads in Beds or Kitchen Confidential, this insider account blends workplace grit with heartfelt reflection. Whether you fly once a year or every week, you'll never see the TSA line the same way again.