Awakening to the Dance:  A Journey to Wholeness 

by

Georganne Spruce

MORE GOOD NEWS:  IndieReader has recommended my book to the Huffington Post.  See the article here:  

http://linkis.com/huffingtonpost.com/pXjh2

This year I entered the Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Contest.  I didn’t win an award, but I did receive an excellent review.  I want to share the results with you. 

Books are evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning “needs improvement” and 5 meaning “outstanding”. This scale is strictly to provide a point of reference, it is not a cumulative score and does not reflect ranking.

Structure, Organization, and Pacing: 5

Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar: 5

Production Quality and Cover Design: 5

Plot and Story Appeal: 5

Character Appeal and Development: 5

Voice and Writing Style: 5

Judge’s Commentary*:

AWAKENING TO THE DANCE: A JOURNEY TO WHOLENESS, a memoir by Georganne Spruce, is an inspiring book that will appeal to those, especially women, who struggle yet are determined to find their authentic selves in spite of what society wants them to be. This memoir will hold special appeal to readers interested in how Buddhism and Jungian dream interpretation can improve one’s life.

The cover is appropriate and eye-catching. The woman looks joyful and limber. I like the green and yellow colors and how the woman’s dance pants contrast with the colors. The back cover copy is very good. I like the summary and the fact that the author has secured two enthusiastic endorsements. I also like the author photo.

The book is immediately engrossing. Baby boomers on the early end of the spectrum will be able to relate, and younger women who have no idea what life for many women was like before the progress feminism has made will find much to learn here. Feminism aside, anyone who wants to live life on a different path than the expected will find much to inspire her (or even him) in this book. The author is authentic about her journey, and that fact alone shows us how much she has learned. This is an insightful, encouraging memoir sure to be appreciated by Spruce’s readers.

 

A woman’s search for her identity, creative expression, and spirituality

Purchase now at Create Space,  Amazon(ebook & paperback)  or Barnes and Noble 

Read Georganne’s interview with Dames of Dialogue

 In Asheville, NC at Grateful Steps Bookshop

BOOK SIGNINGS AND READINGS

BOOK DESCRIPTION

What does it take for us to become our authentic selves? In her memoir, Georganne Spruce, a woman who chooses to define herself rather than follow society’s stereotypes, searches for an authentic identity, creative expression, and a spirituality that uplifts her.  On this journey, this dance of life, she learns to release her fear, express her deepest thoughts, stand strong in relationships, and find her spiritual core.  She explores the mind/body connection through dance, meditation, and law of attraction principles. This book is more than one woman’s story, for Georganne shares the tools, practices, dreams, and insights she has used to transform life’s challenges into a life she loves.

 PROLOGUE

   Everyone is searching. We want a better life, more love, and inner peace. We want living to be less difficult. We want good relationships, respectful children, loving parents, and appreciative employers. We’re tired of stumbling, failing, grieving, and picking ourselves up and trying again. We keep thinking there has to be an easier way. We want to live our dreams and fulfill our deepest desires. We want to know who we really are and what our purpose is in life.

   In the 1950s, Dag Hammarskjold, then secretary-General of the United Nations, wrote in his journal, “The longest journey is the journey inward,” acknowledging that this journey to find ourselves is spiritual and eternal, for we are eternal, chasing our desires through life time after life time, moment after moment. Finally, in desperation, at some final moment of reckoning, there are no more places to which to escape, and the only door that opens, opens inward. We are at once confronted with who we really are and who we are not. When we have the courage, we step through this door into the unknown and are transformed forever into a new and amazing life. I know because I am living that life.

EXCERPTS FROM AWAKENING TO THE DANCE: A JOURNEY TO WHOLENESS

I

“Looking into Anna’s eyes (Anna Sololow) was like diving into the depths of the soul. Working with her as a dancer or a choreographer was intense: she demanded that we delve deeply into our psyches. This was painful for me because Gary (my husband) and I were once again having difficulties, and I was depressed, realizing it was possible that our marriage might end. I didn’t want my art to imitate the darkness in my life; I wanted to use dance to escape. But with Anna that was impossible.

Sitting alone at night in the dark, watching the smoke of my cigarette slowly dissipate into the air, I opened the interior gates I so desperately wanted to keep closed. The fear of rejection overwhelmed me. What if my work wasn’t good enough?

Only in the cool, quiet darkness did I find the serenity to look at what I really believed and wanted. A hunger for integrity in my life gnawed at my heart—a desire to fly free of everyone’s expectations and be who I really was. I wasn’t as strong as Anna; I hadn’t given myself totally to my art. I’d given away large portions of myself to my husband and my students, leaving less than what I needed for myself. Everyone needed so much from me. I suddenly understood why Stieglitz told Georgia O’Keefe she couldn’t be both a mother and a painter.”

II

“I was impatient for the divine plan for my life to evolve. I understood that Unity and Gladys (my spiritual teacher) were saying the same thing. For a need to be filled or an affirmation to be manifest, conditions had to be right. The people and situations had to be present, but first I had to be open to the possibility, put aside old thoughts, and create circulation so that the new people and situations could come into my life. Were things moving slowly because the elements weren’t in place? Or did I still need to let go of outdated beliefs?

By reviving my meditation practice, I found a place of silence and stillness. I wanted to hold onto that feeling forever, always to be suspended there, to be that peaceful. I felt reluctant to move forward, knowing I might face chaos again, but I tried to believe even the chaos would offer beneficial lessons. Except for the doubts about finding a job, I felt a deep peace most of the time. Other things were changing in my life. I’d stopped smoking and felt strongly that I wouldn’t start again. Surely that was a sign that my good would come to me.”