Gretchen and Norm Helm were married for eight years when Norm was struck by a car while crossing the street and suffered a massive head injury. Everything in their lives changed at this moment. Norm, who was the pastor of a church in Westborough, Ma. had to give up his job and his profession. Gretchen also had to give up her profession as a therapist as they needed to leave the town they had called home for ten years in order for the new minister to establish himself without the former minister and his wife sharing the spotlight. They began a new life in New Mexico but had to deal with the effects of Norm's traumatic brain injury. Norm's short-term memory was gone, and over the years Norm had to endure many other losses. Then, seventeen years after his accident, Norm was diagnosed with dementia and subsequently entered an assisted living facility. While going through some things that Norm had written to Gretchen over the years, she found a lovely note that Norm had written to her on the occasion of their nineteenth wedding anniversary. He wrote, "My dear Gretchen, Nobody has ever been more a part of me and my life than you have been and are; nor have I ever known anybody as well and as deeply as I know you. We are not one: we are a pair...We dance freely, improvising as we spin around this floor of life...So just hold me, and we'll dance another nineteen years. I love you, Norm." Jack Kornfield wrote: " At the end of our life our questions are simple: Did I live fully? Did I love well?" Gretchen and Norm have lived fully, and they have loved well.

The television actress recounts her experiences as a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars," a program in which she participated in part as a way to showcase her Christian faith, and describes the lessons she learned facing its challenges.

A warm and encouraging self-help book that draws inspiration and motivation from ballroom dancing. Precisely because the dance floor stands apart from the everyday world, allowing dancers to play, experiment and take on new roles, it also serves as a stage for human behavior. Antoinette Benevento, a former national ballroom dancing champion and co-owner of Fred Astaire Dance Studios, has been a student of that stage for 25 years. She has discovered that getting out on the dance floor is a powerful and empowering metaphor for living fully in all realms of life. Some of the tenets Antoinette Benevento lives, dances, and teaches by: -Persistence is a form of beauty -Give yourself permission to begin again--and again and again -If you're not willing to risk falling, you'll never learn to walk (or dance) -Desire is the energy that moves us forward in dance and in life -To dance well and to live fully, body and soul need to work together Building on the ballroom dancing craze that has swept the country, including the popularity of "Dancing with the Stars", this illuminating and highly readable book shows that what you learn on the dance floor can help you dance through life. ANTOINETTE BENEVENTO is co-owner of and National Training Director for the Fred Astaire Dance Studios and a former national ballroom dancing champion. EDWIN DOBB is a contributing editor of Harper's Magazine, and has written for numerous other national publications, including The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, and Discover.

Live your life to the fullest In Dancing through Life, Allen Brown offers his unique perspective: All life starts with the question Wouldn’t it be great if . . .? Allen believes that a true, authentic life begins with this simple question because it signals an awakening to the possibility of more. We can be more than we think we are, and we can do more than we think we’re capable of doing. And the sense of wonder and possibility contained in Wouldn’t it be great if . . .? isn’t just for the young. It’s for everyone! This book will inspire you to start living the lives you’ve always wanted to live. The author offers his advice on such topics as— • trusting your intuition • broadening your horizons and getting out of your comfort zone • understanding the power of your own thoughts • adopting a growth mind-set • setting and achieving goals An entrepreneur and self-made millionaire, Allen became an amateur ballroom dancing champion in his mid-eighties. Through the insight he provides in Dancing through Life, you will be reminded that if the music is playing, you should be dancing. We only have one life, and we should live it with gusto!

Internationally traveled and familiar with salons and personalities of the dance world, we find a stroll through the years as Dorothy Dean Stevens gives us glimpses of personal encounters with leading dancers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. She begins by tracing her ancestors settling in the west; on through her early years, then to her entrance into the hallowed halls of European Ballet and the continued ties with leading dancers. Early in her life she studied at Cornish School of the Arts and later with Eugene Lorin. Such notables as Adolf Bolm, and Dimitri Romanoff, instructed in her dance studio in Monterey California. Sucessful dancers such as Frank Bourman, and Michael Smuin, who later founded the Smuin Ballet in San Francisco, taught for a time at Dorothy's studio. She also covers the development of the cultural arts, tracing theater and talent that existed in the central California region of the Monterey Peninsula. But there is more to her life than this; travel and adventure, business and pleasure all woven into a tale of her life. Dorothy dances through joys and sorrows to the encore years in which her family, once again, takes the spot light.

Dancing through Life with Guts, Grace & Gusto is a collection of inspiring women's stories on work, on life, on purpose - their rediscoveries and reawakenings for living life in tune with their hearts and sustaining themselves through transitions. It's about embracing change with courage, humor, adventure and wisdom in search of love, happiness, health, wealth and well-being. Recapture your indomitable spirit, then get ready to soar! What every woman needs to dance through all of life's twists, turns, and transitions. Dancing through Life with Guts, Grace & Gusto is both an inspirational resource and instructional guide to fulfill your destiny to: -Attract abundance & manifest your dreams -Sustain yourself through times of transition -Practice safe stress, take time for yourself & laugh out loud -Enjoy supportive relationships -Recognize your ability to create a succulent life -Express yourself as a fully "gustomized" woman "Guts, Grace & Gusto is filled with grand, not giddy, wisdom which can free you from your own boundaries. The authors prove that when life isn't the party you hoped for, it's time to start dancing." - Madelyn Jennings, (Retired) Senior Vice President-Personnel, Gannett Co., Inc., Chair-Executive Committee, The Freedom Forum "Step by magical step, these talented 'walkers on the pathway of challenges' have set forth the equally magical choreography of how every woman can choose to DANCE her way over, beyond and through those very same type of challenges. Be prepared to have your feet moving to the beat of well-being and healthy choices as you read your way through this impressive Dance Class of Life." - Bob Danzig, Former CEO, Hearst Newspapers, Author & ProfessionalSpeaker

Sometimes it feels like we have two left feet. In one area of life or many, we stumble, get off-beat, and possibly even trip the "dancers" around us. In this book, we want to help you trade those two, tired, clumsy, left feet for the skilled, smooth movements of an expert dancer AND the carefree, spontaneity of a dancing child. Here's how: * Covering each of the main areas needed for holistic success in life, including the mind, body, heart, relationships, work and finances; * Explaining the 3 most critical tips for success in each area; * Providing actual exercises for application and practice. As two clinical psychologists who have lived, taught, and walked others through these places, we're ready to help you dance toward true holistic success and happiness today!