Hope in a Ballet Shoe: Orphaned by war, saved by ballet: an extraordinary true story - Softcover

DePrince, Michaela; DePrince, Elaine

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571314465 ISBN 13: 9780571314461

Publisher: Faber & Faber, 2015

Synopsis

Hope in a Ballet Shoe tells the story of Michaela DePrince. Growing up in war-torn Sierra Leone, she witnesses atrocities that no child ever should. Her father is killed by rebels and her mother dies of famine. Sent to an orphanage, Michaela is mistreated and she sees the brutal murder of her favourite teacher.

Michaela and her best friend are adopted by an American couple and Michaela begins to take dance lessons. But life in the States isn't without difficulties. Unfortunately, tragedy can find its way to Michaela in America, too, and her past can feel like it's haunting her. The world of ballet is a racist one, and Michaela has to fight for a place amongst the ballet elite, hearing the words 'America's not ready for a black girl ballerina.'

And yet . . . Today, Michaela DePrince is an international ballet star, dancing for The Dutch National Ballet at the age of nineteen. This is a heart-breaking, inspiring autobiography by a teenager who shows us that, beyond everything, there is always hope for a better future.

About this title

Review

One of the most heart wrenching and inspirational stories you'll read this year. (The Bookseller)

A story of great courage that all women - young and old - should read. (Tina Brown)

[T]he story she tells....is one of almost unimaginable turmoil and out-of-the-blue good fortune, much like the fairy-tale dances she now performs....[H]ere is where another hero of this book appears. DePrince has an amazing story to tell, and without her seemingly selfless mother and co-author, Elaine DePrince, she wouldn't be here to tell it. (New York Times Book Review)

Co-written with her adoptive mother, this is an extraordinary and compelling account of love and hope triumphing over cruelty (Sunday Times)

From the Author

Michaela DePrince was born in 1995 in Sierra Leone. After the deaths of her parents, she moved to an orphanage from which she was adopted and taken to the US in 1999. Elaine DePrince, her new mother, noticed Michaela's obsession with ballet and allowed her to begin lessons. Michaela is now a professional ballerina, who danced principal with The Dance Theatre of Harlem, in guest principal roles in South Africa and The Netherlands, and is now just starting with The Dutch National Ballet.

About this edition

• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0571314465
• ISBN 13: 9780571314461
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272