Raising the Barre ─ Big Dreams, False Starts, & My Midlife Quest to Dance the Nutcracker

When I was six, my father nicknamed me Laurisa Kesslova because, he said, all great dancers were Russians, and since I was going to be a great dancer, I needed a Russian name. I aim to reclaim that name.

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.

Lauren Kessler is an award-winning author and immersion reporter. She is the author of seven nonfiction books, includingCounterclockwise: My Year of Hypnosis, Hormones, Dark Chocolate, and Other Adventures in the World of Anti-aging, as well asMy Teenage Werewolf: A Mother, a Daughter, a Journey Through the Thicket of Adolescence. Her journalism has appeared in theNew York Times Magazine, Los Angeles Times Magazine, O, the Oprah Magazine,Ladies' Home Journal, Woman's Day, Prevention, and Salon. She also directs the graduate program in narrative journalism at the University of Oregon.

laurenkessler.com