When I had the opportunity to read Fierce and Delicate: Essays on Dance and Illness by Renee K. Nicholson I was really excited because of my own ballet/dance background and my curiosity about what happens after dance life. I wanted to connect with a huge part of my past before all these injuries and I wanted to learn a little bit more about chronic illness from a dancer's perspective.

I appreciated the raw honesty of this one. The first half really talks about the dark side of dance and exposes the dangers of pedophilia, grooming, and disordered eating. The second half goes into how rheumatoid arthritis forced her to stop. The author does a good job of giving you the details of events and how her illness progressed.

However, I really wanted to love this one but I struggled to stay connected to her story. The author talked about really dark events but never connected emotionally. It is written as if the author is an outsider looking in and she intends the reader to stay exterior as well. There is no emotional connection to the events which it makes it difficult to become invested in her story. The writing feels more like reporting than personal essays. It just didn't dig deep enough for any emotion to come through. It does give you an understanding of the dance world and how tough dancers have to be mentally and physically but that is about all that it gives.

Thanks to @booksforwardpr for the gifted copy. ( )