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This Time I Dance
by Tama J. Kieves
What happens to a Harvard Law School graduate who burns out? She rediscovers life.
Layoffs are a fact of life in this tense age of business. People in corporate America, particularly those in middle management positions, look over their shoulders with every pay period, wondering when the next downsizing will come. In “This Time I Dance: Trusting the Journey of Creating the Work You Love,” Tama Kieves reverses that procedure. A cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School on track to be a partner in the firm where she works, Kieves quit when she could no longer stand to face the boredom of one more brief. Her heart cried out to be a writer. Faced with family and friends who looked at her like she had a screw loose, she began the process of learning how to trust her own journey.
Kieves says, ”Criticism only strikes a fire when we provide the wood.” She begins unburying her creative self while her family, friends and former co-workers question the path she chooses. It seemed irrational. In spite of all the criticism, doubt and reflection Kieves goes through, she forges out a new creative person who becomes a writer, workshop presenter and career coach. She consistently refuses to fuel negative reactions to her decision and continues exploring herself and the writer she wants to become.
The chapter called “You Have to Color Outside the Lines to Find Your Picture” reminded me of the trouble I had in kindergarten staying inside those pesky lines in my coloring book. My teacher consulted with my mother about this serious problem. Years later, I would get a degree in art and put those lines aside forever. That didn't happen until I refuted those who told me I was only successful if I stayed within restrictions.
Kieves defines discipline as “being a disciple to yourself.” None of her success was done without dedication and experimentation. After trying the writing schedules of several famous authors, Kieves developed her own flexible agenda. She suggests for writers to do the same; experiment and invent a writing time that works for them.
Kieves writing style is a bit wired, but so is she. Her journey is a testament to a life seeker who follows his or her desires, steps off the precipice into the unknown and finds an invisible bridge. The bridge is there but not visible until the decision is made to take that first step. Although the writing is sometimes over the top, this book is a great motivator for those who need training in how to dance through life and stop being content with the status quo.
Title: This Time I Dance
Author: Tama J. Kieves
Publisher: Joseph P. Tarcher/Penguin
ISBN: 1585423300
Review written by: Mindy Phillips Lawrence
Reviewer's Rating:8.5
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0
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