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It started as the perfect story. Zippora Karz was a member of the famed New York City Ballet by the age of eighteen. By twenty she was starring as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, dancing roles created by Jerome Robbins, and traveling the world. It was the stuff dreams are made of until, at age twenty-one, Karz was diagnosed with diabetes.
Balancing ballet and her blood sugar would be a long and difficult struggle for Karz. In The Sugarless Plum, Karz shares her journey from denial, shame and miseducation about her illness to how she led an active, balanced and satisfying life as an insulin-dependent diabetic and soloist with one of the world's most famous ballet companies. The Sugarless Plum takes readers deep into the heart and soul of a young dancer, and is a remarkable testament to determination and perseverance.
Anonymous
Posted February 4, 2012
I really enjoyed this book amd i finished it in two days. I love reading about ballerina's, because I used to dance and as luck would have it, I too, was diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic when I was 16 years old. So I could really relate to her hypoglycemic episodes and other issues she had when adjusting to being diabetic. It was a easy and enjoyable read.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 27, 2010
My daughter was a dancer and was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. This
book made me realize that this diagnosis is a process. Control is trial and error and develops over time. I loved the inside look at the New York
City Ballet.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I always knew that ballet is a very difficult art to master, it requires a lot of sacrifices, discipline and asks to move our bodies in the most unnatural but beautiful way. The lives of ballet dancers are as mysterious to an average person as the chasms of the deepest ocean, but this book provides fascinating and cringe worthy look behind the velvet curtain. These people are intense athletes and with this story Zippora Karz not only exposes her hardships as a dancer but also as a diabetic. Her continuous desire to hider her pain and diseases and using injections for taking her performance to peaks even she shouldn't be attempting were intense and quite frankly hard to read. I felt deep compassion but also a bit of anger that such a bright woman would do this to her own body, but then again artists aren't simple creatures, we have our own quirks and potentials that fascinate others but take a lot out of us.
This was a good and inspirational read, and it's great to see people like Karz speak out after years of hiding, not only setting their bodies free but their minds as well, and helping others in the future.
- Kasia S.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This was a fascinating, well-written read. Karz takes us into the world of the School of American Ballet, founded by the great George Balanchine, as well as the New York City Ballet. The world of ballet is tough, dancers often perform with sprains and even broken bones. A week off could be a huge setback in a ballerina's career. A mistake in rehearsal could cost a lead role. They learn to ignore pain, which is why it takes Karz so long to seek medical treatment despite her worsening symptoms and near collapse. And when she is finally diagnosed with diabetes, she is diagnosed with the wrong type, which means the wrong treatment. But she is determined to continue to dance while trying to understand this disease, which she feels has taken over her life and threatens her career. She eventually not only learns about it but becomes a spokesperson.
This book read very quickly, and is definitely recommended for anyone who loves the ballet. Karz gives a really good overview of the ballet world. I have a new respect for these under appreciated athletes. Even if you can't relate to diabetes, it is about taking control of your own health.
my rating 4.5/5
http://bookmagic418.blogspot.com/
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This is a great biography about a dedicated ballerina who has been struggling with diabetes. This book covers not only Zippora's struggles with her disease but also her struggles in life in general. Having taking years of dance classes I was really drawn into the story of how Karz became a ballerina and her journey to becoming a ballerina. Next as a reader I was then immediately empathetic to her struggle with her disease as well as her ability to learn how to live with this disease and still practice dance. I feel that this book would be great for anyone who is really struggling with any major illness or set back in their life. As a reader you feel that pains and struggles that Zippora goes through while trying to deal with her painful diagnosis and how she is able to overcome her struggles. I think that someone who reads this book can use Zippora as an example of how to deal with those road blocks that stand in your way and still fulfill your dreams. This was a great quick read that most people would enjoy.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.When thinking of ballet, you think of beautiful costumes, light and lovely women flying through the air with unseen wings and standing on pointe for long minutes at a time. You do not think of the hours of rehearsal, the sore muscles, or the health of the dancers. Dancers perform the ballet flawless and we are left with an image that is.timeless.
Ms Katz takes us backstage and not just backstage of the Company but the backstage of her life. Her explorations of life coincide with her adventures of ballet. We can identify with her as young girl becoming a woman even if we have never taken a dance class.
Zippora is a testament to all of us to meet a challenge head-on and work through it. Everyone one of us have had feelings of being lost or not feeling quite up to the task, yet to be constantly reminded of Zippora's feelings of inadequacy was a bit tiring. This is a memoir so we do live through her eyes.
Even though, I could not quite get into the book, I think most people will enjoy The Sugarless Plum. This is her story and one she is willing to share with others who have diabetes. You can see by her words she encourages everyone to live to their fullest potential no matter what challenges come their way. In fact, her message is, "Passion is what motivates us and gives our life meaning.'
Thank you Caitlin of FSB Media for the review copy.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted February 15, 2013
I really loved this book, so much drama and emotion... I personally know Zippora and honestly I never knew about her exciting and riviting background!
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Posted December 28, 2012
Im not a fan and i absilutly hated this book
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Posted November 3, 2012
I also am in ballet snd it is hard and it is probally much harder to do it with balencing your blood sugar. Also i met her in San Deigo California for a summer intesive
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Overview
It started as the perfect story. Zippora Karz was a member of the famed New York City Ballet by the age of eighteen. By twenty she was starring as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, dancing roles created by Jerome Robbins, and traveling the world. It was the stuff dreams are made of until, at age twenty-one, Karz was diagnosed with diabetes.
Balancing ballet and her blood sugar would be a long and difficult struggle for Karz. In The ...