Drawn to the Rhythm
A Passionate Life Reclaimed
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
The inspiring story of one woman's journey of healing and transformation.
Sara Hall's life seemed perfect: a wealthy husband, a big house in an affluent suburb, three healthy children. But the surface of Hall's life hid a marriage filled with sorrow and pain. One day, at age forty-two, Hall sees a lone figure rowing in the harbor, and that image becomes her holy grail.
In this richly layered memoir, the author tells how her determination to master rowing a single shell gave her the courage to free herself from the dark forces of abuse in her childhood and the failure of her marriage. In lyrical prose, Hall describes the rigors of rowing, the elation of winning, the joy of total engagement in passionate enterprise, and the triumph of breaking free. Ultimately, she declares sovereignty over her life and wins a world championship gold medal. Drawn to the Rhythm is a brave and soulful book, written for all women who seek to find their strength and voice.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"There is no greater terror or joy than to take the whole sum of who you are and express it in four minutes," writes Hall of racing a single-shell boat. In spring of 1995 Hall, a Long Island housewife with three children, experienced an epiphany when she observed a single shell moving on the water through the window of her car. This elegant and moving memoir recounts how she simultaneously fell in love with rowing and began moving away from a suffocating marriage wherein she was relentlessly belittled. Initially rowing before dawn in order to meet her husband's demands that she be available when he and their children awoke, Hall's love and talent for the sport caused her submissive attitude to wane. Offering lyrical descriptions of rowing, Hall details how she competed in and won master events (she is the 1998 World Masters Champion in the women's single shell). As she gained the approbation of fellow rowers, and her children (although not her husband) expressed pride in her ability, she discovered parts of herself previously hidden beneath the facade of dutiful wife. A move to Boston, because of her husband's job, led her to part-time work with a racing shell company and close contact with a rowing community. When Hall told her husband she was divorcing him, he launched a legal and emotional campaign of intimidation to dissuade her; she eventually moved out. Hall now shares child custody with her former husband and continues to find joy and freedom in competitive rowing. B&w photos. National radio/TV interviews.
