First published 2014
Misty Copeland opens her memoir at age thirteen, placing her hands on a barre at a community center after school. She sleeps on motel room floors with five siblings. No one expects this undersized, anxious girl to make history. Copeland discovers she has natural talent. She dances en pointe three months after her first class. She performs professionally within a year. This speed amazes the classical dance world. Copeland becomes the only African American soloist at American Ballet Theatre. She faces a choice between the control she finds in ballet and the chaos of her home life. A custody battle makes headlines. She must decide whether to embrace her identity and her dreams. Copeland takes readers backstage at auditions and into iconic ballet roles. She reveals the desire and drive that transformed her life from poverty to center stage.
Genres: african-american, autobiography, biography-memoir
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: finding-oneself, overcoming-adversity, rags-to-riches
288 pages · Hardcover · Touchstone