Let Cheryl Burke Give You Dancing Lessons

I truly enjoyed reading Dancing Lessons: How I Found Passion and Potential On the Dance Floor and in Life by Cheryl Burke! I am a big fan of the television show, "Dancing with the Stars," and enjoy watching the celebrity as well as the professional dancers each week as they hit the ballroom floor and perform Latin and Classical ballroom dances. This book was written by Cheryl Burke, one of my favorite professional dancers, who has been with the show since Season Two. During that season, she won the coveted "mirror ball trophy" when her celebrity partner Drew Lachey (formerly a singer with 98 degrees) won the season. The book is very approachable and is arranged by the types of dance that mirror a specific time in her life. I always had the perception that Cheryl was this wonderfully talented, confident dance, but this book shows how she overcame numerous insecurities (she used to be shy :) ) to have a successful dance career and win the mirror ball trophy twice, so far. My favorite part of the book was learning about all of the struggles that Cheryl's mom went through (as a divorced single mom) to start and maintain her own business and how Cheryl overcame some really harsh personal incidences to become the star she is today. The book ends with a section on each of her celebrity partners and a discussion of the lessons she learned from each of them. This is a truly inspiring read, if you are a fan of the show or not. It is a great story of finding your dream and living life to the fullest. I think this would be a great book to give to a teen who is entering college and embarking on her own quest to find herself.