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Dances With Luigi: A Grandson's Search For His Italian Roots
by Paul E. Paolicelli Paul PaolicelliIn this spirited memoir, veteran TV journalist Paul Paolicelli does what many of us can only dream of--he picks up and moves to a foreign country in an attempt to trace his ancestral roots. With the help of Luigi, his guide and companion, he travels through Italy--Rome, Gamberale, Matera, Miglionico, Alessandria, even Mussolini's hometown of Predappio--and discovers the tragic legacy of the Second World War that is still affecting the Old Country. He visits ancient castles and village churches, samples superb Italian cuisine, haggles at the open air market at Porta Portese, enjoys and Alessandria siesta, and frequents "coffee bars", where beggars discuss politics with affluent Italian locals. He finds lost-lost cousins during the day and performs with an amateur jazz group during the night. Along the way, he discovers deeply moving stories about his family's past and learns answers to question that have plagued him since childhood. More that just a spiritual account of one man's ancestral search, Dances With Luigi is also a stunning portrait ofla bella Italia--both old and new--that is painted beautifully in all of its glamour, history, and contradiction.
Dancing at Ciro's
by Sheila WellerIn 1958, young Sheila Weller was living a charmed life with her family in Beverly Hills. Her father was a brilliant brain surgeon. Her mother was a movie-magazine writer whose brother owned Hollywood's most dazzling nightclub, Ciro's. Then her world exploded after she witnessed her uncle's brutal attempt to kill her father.In Dancing at Ciro's, Weller has written a deeply felt memoir of her family's life contrasted with those most glamorous days of Hollywood's forties and fifties. While vividly describing Lana Turner's, Frank Sinatra's, and Sammy Davis Jr.'s evenings--and breakdowns--at Ciro's, Weller casts a keen eye on her own family's turmoil and loss.
Dancing at the River’s Edge: A Patient and her Doctor Negotiate Life with Chronic Illness
by Alida Brill Michael D. LockshinAn invaluable resource for medical professionals, victims of chronic illnesses, and their loved ones, this dual memoir by a doctor and his longtime patient traces the growth of their unique friendship over a span of decades. By exploring the bond between caregiver and sufferer, this sensitive account evokes not only the constant day to day frustrations and emotional toll suffered by the chronically ill, but also an understanding of the mental struggles and conflicts that a conscientious doctor must face in deciding how best to treat a patient without compromising personal freedoms. In alternating chapters, the narrative explores the frustration, joy, despair, grief, and pain on both sides of the doctor-patient relationship.
Dancing Barefoot: The Patti Smith Story
by Dave ThompsonOffering a unique analysis and discussion of her life, career, and work, this is the true story of Patti Smith. Widely acknowledged as one of the most significant American artists of the rock age, an acclaimed poet, and a figurehead for many liberal political causes, Patti Smith went from an ugly-duckling childhood in postwar New Jersey to become queen of the 1970s New York art scene. Not a tell-all biography, this measured, accurate, and enthusiastic account of Smith's career is written for her loyal fans as well as for neophytes hungry for a great rock 'n' roll story. Guided by interviews with those who have known her--including Ivan Kral, Tom Verlaine, Richard Lloyd, John Cale, and Jim Carroll--it relies most of all on Patti's own words.
The Dancing Bear: My Eighteen Years in the Trenches of the AFL and NFL
by Ron McDole Rob Morris George FlintFrom the early sixties to the late seventies, defensive end Ron McDole experienced football’s golden age from inside his old‑school, two‑bar helmet. During an eighteen‑year pro career, McDole—nicknamed “The Dancing Bear”—played in over 250 games, including two AFL Championships with the Buffalo Bills and one NFL Championship with the Washington Redskins. A cagey and deceptively agile athlete, McDole wreaked havoc on football’s best offenses as part of a Bills defensive line that held opponents without a rushing touchdown for seventeen straight games. His twelve interceptions remain a pro record for defensive ends. Traded by the Bills in 1970, he was given new life in Washington as one of the most famous members of George Allen’s game‑smart veterans known as “The Over‑the‑Hill Gang.” Through it all, McDole was known and loved by teammates and foes alike for his knowledge and skill on the field and his ability to have fun off it. In The Dancing Bear McDole the storyteller traces his life from his humble beginnings in Toledo, Ohio, to his four years at the University of Nebraska, his marriage to high school sweetheart Paula, and his long, accomplished professional career. He recounts the days when a pro football player needed an off‑season job to pay the bills and teams had to drive around in buses to find a city park in which to practice. The old AFL and NFL blitz back to life through McDole’s straightforward stories of time when the game was played more for love and glory than for money.
The Dancing Bees: Karl von Frisch and the Discovery of the Honeybee Language
by Tania MunzWe think of bees as being among the busiest workers in the garden, admiring them for their productivity. But amid their buzzing, they are also great communicators--and unusual dancers. As Karl von Frisch (1886-1982) discovered during World War II, bees communicate the location of food sources to each other through complex circle and waggle dances. For centuries, beekeepers had observed these curious movements in hives, and others had speculated about the possibility of a bee language used to manage the work of the hive. But it took von Frisch to determine that the bees' dances communicated precise information about the distance and direction of food sources. As Tania Munz shows in this exploration of von Frisch's life and research, this important discovery came amid the tense circumstances of the Third Reich. The Dancing Bees draws on previously unexplored archival sources in order to reveal von Frisch's full story, including how the Nazi government in 1940 determined that he was one-quarter Jewish, revoked his teaching privileges, and sought to prevent him from working altogether until circumstances intervened. In the 1940s, bee populations throughout Europe were facing the devastating effects of a plague (just as they are today), and because the bees were essential to the pollination of crops, von Frisch's research was deemed critical to maintaining the food supply of a nation at war. The bees, as von Frisch put it years later, saved his life. Munz not only explores von Frisch's complicated career in the Third Reich, she looks closely at the legacy of his work and the later debates about the significance of the bee language and the science of animal communication. This first in-depth biography of von Frisch paints a complex and nuanced portrait of a scientist at work under Nazi rule. The Dancing Bees will be welcomed by anyone seeking to better understand not only this chapter of the history of science but also the peculiar waggles of our garden visitors.
Dancing Fish and Ammonites: A Memoir
by Penelope LivelyThe beloved and bestselling author takes an intimate look back at a life of reading and writing"The memory that we live with . . . is the moth-eaten version of our own past that each of us carries around, depends on. It is our ID; this is how we know who we are and where we have been."Memory and history have been Penelope Lively's terrain in fiction over a career that has spanned five decades. But she has only rarely given readers a glimpse into her influences and formative years.Dancing Fish and Ammonites traces the arc of Lively's life, stretching from her early childhood in Cairo to boarding school in England to the sweeping social changes of Britain's twentieth century. She reflects on her early love of archeology, the fragments of the ancients that have accompanied her journey--including a sherd of Egyptian ceramic depicting dancing fish and ammonites found years ago on a Dorset beach. She also writes insightfully about aging and what life looks like from where she now stands.
The Dancing Girls of Lahore: Selling Love and Hoarding Dreams in Pakistan's Ancient Pleasure District
by Louise BrownThe dancing girls of Lahore inhabit the Diamond Market in the shadow of a great mosque. The twenty-first century goes on outside the walls of this ancient quarter but scarcely registers within. Though their trade can be described with accuracy as prostitution, the dancing girls have an illustrious history: Beloved by emperors and nawabs, their sophisticated art encompassed the best of Mughal culture. The modern-day Bollywood aesthetic, with its love of gaudy spectacle, music, and dance, is their distant legacy. But the life of the pampered courtesan is not the one now being lived by Maha and her three girls. What they do is forbidden by Islam, though tolerated; but they are gandi, "unclean," and Maha's daughters, like her, are born into the business and will not leave it. Sociologist Louise Brown spent four years in the most intimate study of the family life of a Lahori dancing girl. With beautiful understatement, she turns a novelist's eye on a true story that beggars the imagination. Maha, a classically trained dancer of exquisite grace, had her virginity sold to a powerful Arab sheikh at the age of twelve; when her own daughter Nena comes of age and Maha cannot bring in the money she once did, she faces a terrible decision as the agents of the sheikh come calling once more.
The Dancing Girls of Lahore: Selling Love and Saving Dreams in Pakistan's Pleasure District
by Louise BrownAn unforgettable and compassionate look at the lives of the residents of Lahore’s pleasure districtThe Dancing Girls of Lahore inhabit the Diamond District in the shadow of a great mosque. The 21st century goes on outside the walls, this ancient quarter, but scarcely registers within. Though their trade can be described with accuracy as prostitution, the dancing girls have an illustrious history: beloved by sultans, their sophisticated art encompassed the best of Mughal culture. The modern day Bollywood aesthetic, with its love of gaudy spectacle, music, and dance, is their distant legacy. But the life of the pampered courtesan is not the one now being lived by Maha and her three girls. What they do is forbidden by Islam, though tolerated; but they are, unclean, and Maha’s daughters, like her, are born into the business and will not leave it. Sociologist Louise Brown spent four years in the most intimate study of the family life of one Lahori courtesan. Beautifully understated, it turns a novelist’s eye on a true story that beggars the imagination. Maha, at fourteen a classically trained dancer of exquisite grace, had her virginity sold to the Sultan of Dubai; when her own daughter Nena comes of age and Maha cannot bring in the money she once did, she faces a terrible decision as the agents of the Sultan come calling once more.
Dancing Gods: Indian Ceremonials of New Mexico and Arizona
by Erna FergussonThe dances and ceremonials of the Native Americans of the Southwest are described and explained this information, authentic guidebook. The author, internationally famous Erna Fergusson, has drawn upon many years of personal observation and careful research.The principal religious ceremonies of the Pueblo Indians of the Rio Grande, as well as those of the Zuñi and Hopi, are represented with an understanding of their background and significance. The reader learns about such colorful events as the Corn Dances and the Eagle Dance, and spectacular ceremonies like the Shaloko of Zuñi and the Snake-dances of the Hopis.Navajo and Apache ceremonials are covered at length, with an introduction to the life-patterns of these remarkable people.Besides the principal dances widely attended by tourists, this book discusses many of the lesser-known but equally interesting and dramatic happenings which have been a part of the religious life of Southwestern Native Americans for hundreds of years.Sixteen full-page illustrations of paintings by prominent artists give insight into the subject.
Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played The Piano For President Lincoln
by Margarita Engle Rafael LópezAs a little girl, Teresa Carreño loved to let her hands dance across the beautiful keys of the piano. If she felt sad, music cheered her up, and when she was happy, the piano helped her share that joy. Soon she was writing her own songs and performing in grand cathedrals. Then a revolution in Venezuela forced her family to flee to the United States. Teresa felt lonely in this unfamiliar place, where few of the people she met spoke Spanish. Worst of all, there was fighting in her new home, too—the Civil War. Still, Teresa kept playing, and soon she grew famous as the talented Piano Girl who could play anything from a folk song to a sonata. So famous, in fact, that President Abraham Lincoln wanted her to play at the White House! Yet with the country torn apart by war, could Teresa’s music bring comfort to those who needed it most?
The Dancing Horses of Acoma, And Other Acoma Indian Stories
by Wolf Robe HuntThe Dancing Horses of Acoma, and Other Acoma Indian Stories by Wolf Robe Hunt and Helen Rushmore is a captivating collection of tales that bring to life the rich cultural heritage and storytelling traditions of the Acoma Pueblo. Drawing from Native American folklore, history, and legend, this book offers readers a glimpse into the timeless wisdom, creativity, and spirituality of the Acoma people.The centerpiece of the collection, The Dancing Horses of Acoma, tells the enchanting story of magical horses whose extraordinary movements and grace capture the hearts of those who witness them. Alongside this tale are other stories that explore themes of community, respect for nature, and the interplay between the human and spiritual worlds.Each story is told with vivid imagery and a deep respect for the cultural origins of the narratives, reflecting the values and traditions of the Acoma Pueblo. From heroic deeds and mystical encounters to moral lessons and everyday life, the collection celebrates the vibrancy and resilience of Native American storytelling.Accompanied by evocative illustrations, this book is a treasure for readers of all ages who are interested in Indigenous cultures, folklore, and the power of storytelling. The Dancing Horses of Acoma, and Other Acoma Indian Stories is both a tribute to the Acoma people and an invitation to explore the enduring legacy of their oral traditions.
Dancing in Blackness: A Memoir
by Halifu OsumareDancing in Blackness is a professional dancer's personal journey over four decades, across three continents and 23 countries, and through defining moments in the story of black dance in America. In this memoir, Halifu Osumare reflects on what blackness and dance have meant to her life and international career. Osumare's story begins in 1960s San Francisco amid the Black Arts Movement, black militancy, and hippie counterculture. It was there, she says, that she chose dance as her own revolutionary statement. Osumare describes her experiences as a young black dancer in Europe teaching "jazz ballet" and establishing her own dance company in Copenhagen. Moving to New York City, she danced with the Rod Rodgers Dance Company and took part in integrating the programs at the Lincoln Center. After doing dance fieldwork in Ghana, Osumare returned to California and helped develop Oakland’s black dance scene. Osumare introduces readers to some of the major artistic movers and shakers she collaborated with throughout her career, including Katherine Dunham, Pearl Primus, Jean-Leon Destine, Alvin Ailey, and Donald McKayle. Now a black studies scholar, Osumare uses her extraordinary experiences to reveal the overlooked ways that dance has been a vital tool in the black struggle for recognition, justice, and self-empowerment. Her memoir is the inspiring story of an accomplished dance artist who has boldly developed and proclaimed her identity as a black woman.
Dancing in Buenos Aires
by Layne MoslerA Vintage Shorts Travel SelectionIn Dancing in Buenos Aires, Layne Mosler takes us on a unforgettable trip with a lively step. With grace, humor, and a keen eye for characters and detail, Mosler brings to life the soul of Buenos Aires and the dance that beats in its heart--the tango. From her first tentative steps (in flip-flops) to the legendary dance floor at Sunderland--the world's greatest tango club--Mosler comes to understand the soul of dance that is more than just movement, but a way of life. Sampling the city's incredible food and finding herself as a writer along the way, Mosler gives us an excursion of self-discovery you don't want to miss. An eBook short.
Dancing in Chains: The Youth of William Dean Howells (The American Social Experience #15)
by Rodney D. Olsen"Dancing in Chains is far more than a sensitive biography (though it is surely that); it is also a model of psychologically informed social and cultural history. Olsen recognizes that psychic conflicts often play themselves out on a higher plane, that psychic and intellectual history are intertwined. He presents a wonderful nuanced picture of Howells."-Jackson Lears,Rutgers University In this insightful study of the childhood and youth of William Dean Howells, Dancing in Chains demonstrates how the turbulent social and cultural changes of the early nineteenth century shaped the young Howells's emotional and intellectual life. His early diaries, letters, poetry, fiction, and newspaper columns are used to illustrate Olsen's argument, which also in turn throws light on the dominant tensions in antebellum America. Accepting the emergent middle-class ethos of civilized morality, with its new conceptions of child rearing and gender spheres, Howells's parents urged him to achieve self-control and individual success while also teaching him to seek the good of others rather than his own glory. For Howells the conflicts coalesced at the time of his leaving home, an increasing common rite of passage for antebellum youth. Trying to affirm his sense of literary vocation, he tested his aspirations against the family's Swedenborgian religious convictions and the antislavery commitments of his village while experimenting with competing literary ideologies in the process of meeting the demands of the new mass reading audience. For Howells the resulting tensions eased toward the end of his youth but reappeared in his more mature works of fiction and social criticism in later years. Portraying the ordeal of coming of age during a momentous period of American history, Dancing in Chains is a fascinating study with a broad appeal to general readers as well as scholars.
Dancing in My Dreams: A Spiritual Biography of Tina Turner (Library of Religious Biography (LRB))
by Ralph H. CraigIf you don&’t know Tina Turner&’s spirituality, you don&’t know Tina. When Tina Turner reclaimed her throne as the Queen of Rock &‘n&’ Roll in the 1980s, she attributed her comeback to one thing: the wisdom and power she found in Buddhism. Her spiritual transformation is often overshadowed by the rags-to-riches arc of her life story. But in this groundbreaking biography, Ralph H. Craig III traces Tina&’s journey from the Black Baptist church to Buddhism and situates her at the vanguard of large-scale movements in religion and pop culture. Paying special attention to the diverse metaphysical beliefs that shaped her spiritual life, Craig untangles Tina&’s Soka Gakkai Buddhist foundation; her incorporation of New Age ideas popularized in &’60s counterculture; and her upbringing in a Black Baptist congregation, alongside the influences of her grandmothers&’ disciplinary and mystical sensibilities. Through critical engagement with Tina&’s personal life and public brand, Craig sheds light on how popular culture has been used as a vehicle for authentic religious teaching. Scholars and fans alike will find Dancing in My Dreams as enlightening as the iconic singer herself.
DANCING IN THE LIGHT
by Shirley MaclaineNow, at a turning point in her life, comes her most revealing and exciting book yet. Outspoken, controversial, talented, and perceptive Shirley MacLaine now takes us on an intimate and fascinating personal odyssey. In 1984 she won an Oscar, starred on Broadway, wrote the best-selling Out on a Limb -- and turned fifty years old. At this special time, in this special year, she was now ready to resume the spiritual journey she had begun in her early forties. In Dancing in the Light, Shirley MacLaine bares her innermost self and explores the lives, both past and present, which touched and affected her own. She sheds new light on her loves, her losses, her childhood, her passions, and her inner drives and ambitions. She asks poignant questions and finds surprising answers. She asks poignant questions and finds surprising answers. She challenges her beliefs and confronts her conflicts. Ultimately, she takes us with her through a life-altering experience that provides a stunning new vision of herself, her future... and the fate of our world.From the Paperback edition.
DANCING IN THE LIGHT
by Shirley MaclaineNow, at a turning point in her life, comes her most revealing and exciting book yet. Outspoken, controversial, talented, and perceptive Shirley MacLaine now takes us on an intimate and fascinating personal odyssey. In 1984 she won an Oscar, starred on Broadway, wrote the best-selling Out on a Limb -- and turned fifty years old. At this special time, in this special year, she was now ready to resume the spiritual journey she had begun in her early forties. In Dancing in the Light, Shirley MacLaine bares her innermost self and explores the lives, both past and present, which touched and affected her own. She sheds new light on her loves, her losses, her childhood, her passions, and her inner drives and ambitions. She asks poignant questions and finds surprising answers. She asks poignant questions and finds surprising answers. She challenges her beliefs and confronts her conflicts. Ultimately, she takes us with her through a life-altering experience that provides a stunning new vision of herself, her future... and the fate of our world.From the Paperback edition.
DANCING IN THE LIGHT
by Shirley MaclaineNow, at a turning point in her life, comes her most revealing and exciting book yet. Outspoken, controversial, talented, and perceptive Shirley MacLaine now takes us on an intimate and fascinating personal odyssey. In 1984 she won an Oscar, starred on Broadway, wrote the best-selling Out on a Limb -- and turned fifty years old. At this special time, in this special year, she was now ready to resume the spiritual journey she had begun in her early forties. In Dancing in the Light, Shirley MacLaine bares her innermost self and explores the lives, both past and present, which touched and affected her own. She sheds new light on her loves, her losses, her childhood, her passions, and her inner drives and ambitions. She asks poignant questions and finds surprising answers. She asks poignant questions and finds surprising answers. She challenges her beliefs and confronts her conflicts. Ultimately, she takes us with her through a life-altering experience that provides a stunning new vision of herself, her future... and the fate of our world.From the Paperback edition.
Dancing in the Mosque: An Afghan Mother's Letter to Her Son
by Homeira QaderiA People Book of the Week & a Kirkus Best Nonfiction of the YearAn exquisite and inspiring memoir about one mother’s unimaginable choice in the face of oppression and abuse in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.In the days before Homeira Qaderi gave birth to her son, Siawash, the road to the hospital in Kabul would often be barricaded because of the frequent suicide explosions. With the city and the military on edge, it was not uncommon for an armed soldier to point his gun at the pregnant woman’s bulging stomach, terrified that she was hiding a bomb. Frightened and in pain, she was once forced to make her way on foot. Propelled by the love she held for her soon-to-be-born child, Homeira walked through blood and wreckage to reach the hospital doors. But the joy of her beautiful son’s birth was soon overshadowed by other dangers that would threaten her life.No ordinary Afghan woman, Homeira refused to cower under the strictures of a misogynistic social order. Defying the law, she risked her freedom to teach children reading and writing and fought for women’s rights in her theocratic and patriarchal society.Devastating in its power, Dancing in the Mosque is a mother’s searing letter to a son she was forced to leave behind. In telling her story—and that of Afghan women—Homeira challenges you to reconsider the meaning of motherhood, sacrifice, and survival. Her story asks you to consider the lengths you would go to protect yourself, your family, and your dignity.
Dancing in the Mosque: An Afghan Mother's Letter to Her Son
by Homeira QaderiA People Book of the Week & a Kirkus Best Nonfiction of the YearAn exquisite and inspiring memoir about one mother’s unimaginable choice in the face of oppression and abuse in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.In the days before Homeira Qaderi gave birth to her son, Siawash, the road to the hospital in Kabul would often be barricaded because of the frequent suicide explosions. With the city and the military on edge, it was not uncommon for an armed soldier to point his gun at the pregnant woman’s bulging stomach, terrified that she was hiding a bomb. Frightened and in pain, she was once forced to make her way on foot. Propelled by the love she held for her soon-to-be-born child, Homeira walked through blood and wreckage to reach the hospital doors. But the joy of her beautiful son’s birth was soon overshadowed by other dangers that would threaten her life.No ordinary Afghan woman, Homeira refused to cower under the strictures of a misogynistic social order. Defying the law, she risked her freedom to teach children reading and writing and fought for women’s rights in her theocratic and patriarchal society.Devastating in its power, Dancing in the Mosque is a mother’s searing letter to a son she was forced to leave behind. In telling her story—and that of Afghan women—Homeira challenges you to reconsider the meaning of motherhood, sacrifice, and survival. Her story asks you to consider the lengths you would go to protect yourself, your family, and your dignity.
Dancing in the Narrows: A Mother-Daughter Odyssey Through Chronic Illness
by Anna PenenbergDancing in the Narrows chronicles a mother and daughter&’s multiyear journey through illness and trauma. At sixteen, Anna&’s youngest daughter, Dana, is stricken with a mysterious and debilitating condition, eventually diagnosed as Lyme disease. Desperate to find a cure, the two women are thrust into the established medical world, then far beyond. Full of adventure, humor, and blind faith, Dancing in the Narrows is an inspiring story of self-discovery as a single mother fights to save the life of her child.
Dancing in the Rain: My story of hope, courage and resilience
by Amy DowdenStrictly Come Dancing professional and breast cancer and Crohn's awareness advocate Amy Dowden shares her journey from growing up in the Welsh Valleys to dancing on the glittering stage of prime-time television. Through her debilitating illness as a teen and her recent chemotherapy treatment for stage 3 breast cancer, Amy's is a story of an unbreakable spirit with an irrepressible joy for life and dance; she is living proof that our darkest times do not define us. From her first dance lesson, Amy never wanted to be off the dance floor; when the music is on, nothing else matters, and it has been what has kept her going in the toughest of times. Despite facing the relentless challenges of undiagnosed Crohn's disease through her teens, Amy's love for dance remained unwavering. Her passion led her to win the British Championships with her partner and become the first Welsh professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing. However, Amy's journey took an unexpected turn when she discovered a lump in her breast just before her honeymoon. Despite undergoing a mastectomy and enduring gruelling chemotherapy, her journey was far from over. Complications arose, and she faced the harsh reality of reduced chances of having children. Yet, through it all, Amy's spirit remained unbroken, fuelled by her love for dance and the unwavering support of her family, friends and supporters.In Dancing in the Rain, Amy Dowden shares her poignant and deeply personal story, offering solace and inspiration to anyone navigating life's storms. With courage and vulnerability, she reminds us that no matter the challenge, the human spirit can prevail, and that even in the darkest of times, there is always hope.
Dancing in the Rain: My story of hope, courage and resilience
by Amy DowdenStrictly Come Dancing professional and breast cancer and Crohn's awareness advocate Amy Dowden shares her journey from growing up in the Welsh Valleys to dancing on the glittering stage of prime-time television. Through her debilitating illness as a teen and her recent chemotherapy treatment for stage 3 breast cancer, Amy's is a story of an unbreakable spirit with an irrepressible joy for life and dance; she is living proof that our darkest times do not define us. From her first dance lesson, Amy never wanted to be off the dance floor; when the music is on, nothing else matters, and it has been what has kept her going in the toughest of times. Despite facing the relentless challenges of undiagnosed Crohn's disease through her teens, Amy's love for dance remained unwavering. Her passion led her to win the British Championships with her partner and become the first Welsh professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing. However, Amy's journey took an unexpected turn when she discovered a lump in her breast just before her honeymoon. Despite undergoing a mastectomy and enduring gruelling chemotherapy, her journey was far from over. Complications arose, and she faced the harsh reality of reduced chances of having children. Yet, through it all, Amy's spirit remained unbroken, fuelled by her love for dance and the unwavering support of her family, friends and supporters.In Dancing in the Rain, Amy Dowden shares her poignant and deeply personal story, offering solace and inspiration to anyone navigating life's storms. With courage and vulnerability, she reminds us that no matter the challenge, the human spirit can prevail, and that even in the darkest of times, there is always hope.
Dancing in the Rain: My story of hope, courage and resilience
by Amy DowdenStrictly Come Dancing professional and breast cancer and Crohn's awareness advocate Amy Dowden shares her journey from growing up in the Welsh Valleys to dancing on the glittering stage of prime-time television. Through her debilitating illness as a teen and her recent chemotherapy treatment for stage 3 breast cancer, Amy's is a story of an unbreakable spirit with an irrepressible joy for life and dance; she is living proof that our darkest times do not define us. From her first dance lesson, Amy never wanted to be off the dance floor; when the music is on, nothing else matters, and it has been what has kept her going in the toughest of times. Despite facing the relentless challenges of undiagnosed Crohn's disease through her teens, Amy's love for dance remained unwavering. Her passion led her to win the British Championships with her partner and become the first Welsh professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing. However, Amy's journey took an unexpected turn when she discovered a lump in her breast just before her honeymoon. Despite undergoing a mastectomy and enduring gruelling chemotherapy, her journey was far from over. Complications arose, and she faced the harsh reality of reduced chances of having children. Yet, through it all, Amy's spirit remained unbroken, fuelled by her love for dance and the unwavering support of her family, friends and supporters.In Dancing in the Rain, Amy Dowden shares her poignant and deeply personal story, offering solace and inspiration to anyone navigating life's storms. With courage and vulnerability, she reminds us that no matter the challenge, the human spirit can prevail, and that even in the darkest of times, there is always hope.