After declaring herself a pretty pink princess during her first ballet class, Rachel dreamt of sugarplums and began pirouetting her way through life. While studying to become a ballerina, she compulsively read books under her covers by flashlight and scribbled in spiral-bound notebooks. The urge to tell stories culminated in her graduation from Columbia College Chicago with a B.F.A. in fiction writing.
Never one to keep her feet on the ground, she traveled the world from Prague to Cape Town. Once settled back in Queens, she dabbled in journalism before working as an Editorial Assistant for a medical publisher. Seeking a more fulfilling career, she earned her MAT from Queens College and currently works as an English teacher in an alternative program in NYC.
Rachel spends her time sipping coffee, trying to cook, and practicing her pirouettes. She currently resides in Freeport, Long Island.
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When a career-ending injury and a messy breakup send prima ballerina Daniela Verdi back to …
Romeo was a sex obsessed teenager. You don't want that. Instead, it should be purposeful. A guy showing you they want to spend time with you because being with you is the best moment of their day and it has nothing to do with getting in your pants.
When a career-ending injury and a messy breakup send prima ballerina Daniela Verdi back to …
The overture began and I swallowed. The curtains parted and my heart beat a thousand times in my chest. When James appeared as Romeo, admiring the fair Rosaline, my eyes welled up.
When a career-ending injury and a messy breakup send prima ballerina Daniela Verdi back to …
Vincent had the tickets between his fingers, a dimpled smile on his face. "Romeo and Juliet," He whispered. "The whole stupidly romantic stuff you like even though I think he's just a sex-crazed teen. I pay attention.
When a career-ending injury and a messy breakup send prima ballerina Daniela Verdi back to …
I was cement, permanent, sturdily constructed, a carefully laid foundation. I moved my hand to my chest. Me. Just me. For the first time, I loved me. I didn't just like me. I loved me. Loved myself.
When a career-ending injury and a messy breakup send prima ballerina Daniela Verdi back to …
a damn roach…[that] scuttled around just like Nate; reappearing, existing forever, never dying. Like Twinkies. So bad, yet deeply desired.
When a career-ending injury and a messy breakup send prima ballerina Daniela Verdi back to …
But maybe healing from the wound on my foot was just the beginning. Maybe I still needed to heal the wound on my heart, too.
When a career-ending injury and a messy breakup send prima ballerina Daniela Verdi back to …
Who put sadness in your eyes?
When a career-ending injury and a messy breakup send prima ballerina Daniela Verdi back to …
I spent hours perusing the bookcases, knee-deep in second-hand novels that smelled like people I'd never met.
When a career-ending injury and a messy breakup send prima ballerina Daniela Verdi back to …
I couldn't believe this was happening. That I could possibly be everything Vinny wanted. That this was real life and I was here being carried to Vinny's bed like a princess. Like his princess.
When a career-ending injury and a messy breakup send prima ballerina Daniela Verdi back to …
I used to be alive, filled with fire, consuming the world like tomorrow might never come. I relished a good love story, the exertion of leaping across a ballet studio, the sighs a piece of art could emit from me. Since the injury, since my heartbreak, I'd lost my desire. It was time to find it again and the Billys weren't doing the trick.
When a career-ending injury and a messy breakup send prima ballerina Daniela Verdi back to …
I glanced over at...Billy? I think his name was Billy. If it was, he'd be the third one since the walking boot came off. Like the Three Billy Goats Gruff. Trip trap, trip trap right into my bed. Especially after one too many Pinot Grigios.
When a career-ending injury and a messy breakup send prima ballerina Daniela Verdi back to …
While I was dancing my ass off in arguably the best ballet company in the nation and earning my B.A. in English online my friends were marrying Billys.
When a career-ending injury and a messy breakup send prima ballerina Daniela Verdi back to …
a whiff of orange underneath a musky cinnamon, faint hints of lemon and cedar. Like the end of summer drifting into fall.
If you are dealing with the loss of your beloved cat, read this book. You will laugh and cry, but at the end you will feel a sense of comfort. I'm so glad I sat down to read this. It was just what I needed after losing my 22 year old cat Regi a month ago. And I know when I am struggling, I can turn the pages again, and remind myself that she is with me forever.
