cover image Becoming Ginger Rogers: How Ballroom Dancing Made Me a Happier Woman, Better Partner, and Smarter CEO

Becoming Ginger Rogers: How Ballroom Dancing Made Me a Happier Woman, Better Partner, and Smarter CEO

Patrice Tanaka. BenBella (Perseus, dist.), $14.95 paper (272p) ISBN 978-1-936661-03-9

Five months after 9/11 and distraught from the loss of life, the shaky economy, and her husband's brain tumor, Tanaka, a 50-something cancer survivor and highly successful PR executive, began to see a life coach who urged her to take dance lessons as a means of rediscovering joy and purpose in her life. After one lesson, it turned into a passion, and Tanaka gradually blossomed into a competitive ballroom dancer who fell in love with herself%E2%80%94the person she had avoided for so many years while tending to the needs of others. Tanaka details her many triumphant PR campaigns: for Dyson during New York City's Fashion Week (topless models walked the runway pushing vacuum cleaners), and by helping the aging Liz Claiborne brand regain its innovative edge by adopting the issue of domestic violence. Tanaka says ballroom dancing gave her more poise and confidence when making business presentations, which she now leads with joy and passion.) Although not sufficiently gripping to garner a widespread audience, this is an absorbing, inspirational memoir of a gutsy woman navigating through crises toward self-fulfillment. Photos. (Sept.)