Her Source Bookclub looks at ‘Life In Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina’ By Misty Copeland

Life In Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina is written by Misty Copeland with Charisse Jones. 

The book tells a story of what it means to overcome adversity by being graceful and achieving her dreams by being an ballerina. She was born in Kansas City, Missouri and is supported by her family that made her dreams come true. Before I read the book, I knew who Misty Copeland was but I really didn’t know about her personal life. While reading the book, Copeland didn’t know what she wanted to do and by the age of 13, she was introduced to ballet by Cynthia Bradley.

She started taking ballet lessons at the Boys and Girls Club, where she also found refugee away from the problems that she had with her mother. Reading this book, gave me an opportunity to know Copeland besides as the talented dancer but that she really worked hard to get where she’s at and she broke down some of the terminology that is used in ballet like Adagio and plié. She moved to the big apple at the age of 17 to be part of the American Ballet Theater.

But before she could accomplish her goals, she was in the middle of a very highly publicized custody battle between her mother and the Bradleys as she was trying to emancipate herself away from her mother. This is one book, that I would recommend young girls to read because although she was a ballerina, she is an example of a true woman that didn’t follow the crowd and never gave in to peer pressure. She stuck by pushing herself until she couldn’t push anymore and I admire this woman as she is elegant and talented.

You could purchase her book in stores and online now. Make sure that you follow the beautiful swan on social media on Twitter at @mistyonpointe and on Facebook at Misty Copeland

-Matia (@ms_hip_hop)