Lydia Raurell

Last week I heard from a representative of Lydia Raurell, author of A Year of Dancing Dangerously (Overlook 2008). I’m often asked by authors to consider blogging about their books. Sometimes I do; sometimes I don’t. It depends on how strong the connection is between the subject and my defying-gravity theme and whether or not I feel good about implicitly or explicitly endorsing the work.

This one was a no-brainer.

I haven’t read Lydia’s book yet, but I watched the video on her website and was immediately inspired.

For as long as she can remember, Lydia dreamed of becoming a dancer. By the time she was in her mid-fifties, she’d been a mom and a businesswoman and was ready for a new adventure.
When she stumbled across an ad in her local paper that read “Walk in Monday, dance out Friday,” that’s exactly what she did. A year later she reigned at the top of the national leader board, a first for a newcomer.

Both the video and, presumably, the book let us peek inside the world of ballroom dancing and see what it takes to become a winner--in every sense of the word.

Click here to access Lydia's website.