{"product_id":"the-nutcracker-chronicles-a-fairytale-memoir-9781647427924","title":"The Nutcracker Chronicles: A Fairytale Memoir","description":"\u003cb\u003ePerfect for \u003ci\u003eThe Nutcracker \u003c\/i\u003eholiday market and fans of work\/life balance books, this memoir of a ballet dancer-turned-literary curator shares the real-life journey of a dancer, wife, and mother.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Nutcracker Chronicles\u003c\/i\u003e, a modern twist on the beloved holiday ballet, intertwines the story of Clara and her nutcracker prince with the true-life stories that unfold backstage. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe curtain rises on Ballet El Paso's production of \u003ci\u003eThe Nutcracker\u003c\/i\u003e, where young Janine Kovac is cast as Fritz, the boy who breaks the nutcracker. Her director is Ingeborg Heuser, a German woman who once performed for Hitler and who peppers her teaching with insults like, \"Why can't you just dance like a pretty girl?\" At least it's better than \"You look like a cow on ice skates,\" which is what the other girls hear daily. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOnstage, Janine wins the battle and embarks on a voyage through a snowy forest to the Land of the Sweets, where she serves as spectator to a beautiful dance. She also travels offstage, leaving El Paso to study at San Francisco Ballet before landing a job in Iceland and returning to California, where she rises through the ranks from soldier to snowflake to candy soloist. Eventually, however, she is relegated to watching other people dance--her husband, her children, her students--and her claim to the spotlight is replaced by the quest to find joy in her new roles.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e She Writes Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/12\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781647427924\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 216\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/16\/2024\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Janine Kovac","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44637670736053,"sku":"9781647427924","price":15.29,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_3f09b6b7-b2ff-4508-a05d-8d911c620583.jpg?v=1726582378","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-nutcracker-chronicles-a-fairytale-memoir-9781647427924","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}