Raising the Barre, Lauren Kessler
Raising the Barre, Lauren Kessler
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Raising the Barre
Big Dreams, False Starts, and My Midlife Quest to Dance the Nutcracker

Author: Lauren Kessler

Narrator: Hollis McCarthy

Unabridged: 9 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/24/2015

Synopsis

When Lauren Kessler was twelve, her ballet instructor crushed not just her dreams of being a ballerina but also her youthful self-assurance. Now, many decades and three children later, Kessler embarks on a journey to join a professional company to perform in The Nutcracker. Raising the Barre is more than just one woman's story; it is a story about shaking things up, taking risks and ignoring good sense, and forgetting how old you are and how you're "supposed" to act. It's about testing limits and raising the bar(re) on your own life.

About Lauren Kessler

Lauren Kessler is an award-winning author and semi-fearless immersion reporter who combines lively narrative with deep research. She has explored everything from the gritty world of a maximum-security prison to the grueling world of professional ballet. She is the author of ten works of narrative nonfiction, including Raising the Barre, Clever Girl, and The Happy Bottom Riding Club. Her books have been BookSense selections, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times bestsellers, Wall Street Journal and People magazine "best" selections, Pacific Northwest Book Award winners, and Oregon Book Award winners.

Her journalism has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Los Angeles Times Magazine, O Magazine, salon.com, Utne Reader, the Nation, newsweek.com, Prevention, Ladies Home Journal, and elsewhere. Kessler is an international speaker and workshop leader. She founded a writers' group for inmates of a maximum-security prison, teaches storytelling for social change to nonprofits in the U.S. and abroad, and works with traditional journalists who want to hone their storytelling skills. She blogs at laurenchronicles.com about living an engaged life. She lives in Oregon.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Akeating2003

This was hard to rate. If I was just rating her story starting with attending 6 different shows and the months up to her dancing on stage, I would have made this 4.5 stars. The behind the scenes details were fascinating and Lauren was very funny in her descriptions of the classes that she tried and......more

Goodreads review by Kelly

I was just curious to read this book because I am a former ballet dancer who hasn't danced in maybe 4 years now. It's so daunting to figure out how to get back in. Ballet requires tremendous discipline and a very high level of physical condition even if you're no longer performing but just taking cl......more

Goodreads review by Carin

My friend Sarah once told me a cool story about how her mother danced the lead in the Nutcracker, on pointe, in her 50s, as a part of a troupe of older ballet dancers. I thought that was amazing. I took ballet as a kid, for many many years, despite having no talent, an uncooperative body (falling ar......more

Goodreads review by Kathleen

Thanks so much to Edelweiss for the ARC of this awesome book which resonated deeply with me. If you're a "midlife" woman thinking about change and renewal=- and if you ever liked ballet- this is the book for you. Kessler hit a real nerve as she finally fulfilled her ballet dream which was quashed wh......more

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