Bodies in Arabesque

By Terri Lewis

For fans of Meg Howrey, a coming-of-age story of two ballerinas, friends and rivals, whose choices after getting pregnant--one before Roe v. Wade and one after--affect their friendship, careers, and life paths.

When friends Gemma and Patrice receive their first lead roles in the Rocky Mountain Ballet's Nutcracker, they're on their way to the life of their dreams. Then Gemma discovers she's pregnant. It's 1972; abortion is illegal. Her lover, an opera singer, wants to marry, have the baby, and move to New York to continue their careers, but Madame, the controlling company director, concocts a different plan that hinges on Gemma leaving her lover entirely.

While Gemma struggles to decide her future, Patrice is botching her romantic pas de deux. Madame demands that she dance with passion. Patrice has never had a boyfriend--her religious mother warned her against men--but she'll do anything to succeed. To her delight, sexual exploration lifts her dancing up to Madame's rigorous standards--until she too discovers she's pregnant.

In an engrossing narrative that unfolds over four years, love and betrayal will force all three women into wrenching decisions.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0H58RJ5P5
• ISBN13: 9798896364429
• Release Date: March 2027
• Publisher: She Writes Press
• Length: 256 Pages