The Trapeze Diaries

"THE TRAPEZE DIARIES is a slight and a good book. Not a slightly good book: a very good book and a very slight book. It consists of only 94 slim pages, some with only one or two lines per page.
Marie Carter, a young woman born in Scotland, now living in Manhattan, has real talent and more wisdom than many her age (mid-twenties). The wisdom comes, in part, because she lost her father at far too early an age and he is a large part of this memoir in quite surprising ways.
The book, more of a journal than a diary (i.e., more intimate, reflective), revolves around two major themes: adapting the loss of her father (he is still with her) and overcoming her fear to do something extremely daring - master the trapeze. Although she has no intention of running away and joining the circus, this activity is one that appeals to her immensely. She is initially scared of heights and of being upside down. She can t do a proper headstand. Although, as a child, she was never athletic or daring, somehow she grasps the courage to take on such a formidable task and becomes positively addicted to it. She works out with circus stars and beginners alike and takes yoga on the side. She suffers pains, aches and bruises, and she progresses to yet more tricky, acrobatic maneuvers....
I think we all need to keep our eyes on this imaginative, bold woman's writing. I predict she may well have a bright literary future. " —Excerpted from curledup.com