Spinning

"Janine Kovac's memoir, written with a fresh and engaging voice, will grab you by the heart and won't let go until the very end. What a ride! Brava!"

--Ellen Sussman, New York Times bestselling author of four novels, A Wedding in Provence, The Paradise Guest House, French Lessons, and On a Night Like This



"A deft and moving exploration of fear, strength, and the ways in which our past lives are always catching up with our present. Janine Kovac weaves her terrifying introduction to motherhood and her career as a professional ballerina as naturally and masterfully as if she's choreographed a new dance. And she has."

--Anna Solomon, author of Leaving Lucy Pear and co-editor of Labor Day: True Stories of Motherhood by Today's Best Women Writers



"Janine Kovac has written a beautiful, honest book about what it means to live in a body, the triumphs and dangers of dancing, the deep joy and sadness of becoming a mother to twins born far too soon. I devoured this book in a single morning, wanting to know what life would unveil for this family. You will too and the story will stay with you for a long, long time after you close the book and breathe again."

--Nayomi Munaweera, author of Island of A Thousand Mirrors (winner of the Commonwealth Regional Prize for Asia) and What Lies Between Us



"I loved Spinning from the first page. Janine Kovac artfully weaves her past as a professional ballet dancer with the story of the premature birth of her twin sons. 'The human body has amazing healing powers if you just know how to listen to it, ' writes Kovac. Spinning is both a testament to the miracle of the human body and to the ways that deep listening allows us to heal and pull meaning from our lives."

--Kate Hopper, author of Ready for Air: A Journey Through Premature Motherhood and Use Your Words: A Writing Guide for Mothers