Dancing on the Edge of the Roof [Paperback]

Sheila Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 2002

At forty-one, Juanita Lewis is running away from home, courtesy of a one-way ticket to Montana, a place that seems about as far away from the violence and poverty of the Columbus, Ohio, projects as the moon. She wants adventure and excitement–if such things exist for a pre-menopausal African American woman with three grown, deadbeat children.

Juanita’s new life in Paper Moon, Montana, begins at a local diner where a culinary face-off with chef and owner Jess Gardiner finds Juanita in front of Jess’s stove serving up home cookin’ that lures the townsfolk like a magic spell. And suddenly Juanita, who was just passin’ through, now has a job by popular demand.

Out here in this wide-open space, Juanita’s heart can no longer hide, especially when she sees herself through the eyes of the wonderful and eccentric people of this down-to-earth town. She’s happy in Paper Moon; she’s found a home, but can she stay? And then there’s Jess. She has always dreamed of romance, but she never planned on falling in love.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Williams has written a delightful debut about a 42-year-old African American woman, Juanita Louis, who is fed up with her life in Columbus, Ohio. Her oldest son is in jail, her middle son is a drug dealer, and her daughter is the mother of a 13-month-old girl, Teishia. When Juanita begins reading romance novels, she longs for another life that just might include some of the reverie she discovered in those stories. Juanita quits her job, leaves her children, and buys a one-way bus ticket to Paper Moon, Montana. Her new adventure begins after she enters the local diner only to learn the breakfast she craves is not on the menu. Juanita takes over the kitchen, and soon everyone in the town is requesting her home cooking and she is employed and at peace. Juanita only meant to pass through Paper Moon on her journey to excitement. Yet, to her surprise, she found romance and love in that small town just like she had set out to discover; and readers will discover a delightful yarn. Lillian Lewis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“Dancing on the Edge of the Roof kept my heart and mind dancing through the pages. Sheila Williams, with her talent for detailed storytelling, expertly takes the reader on a poignant and humorous quest for self.”
–LORI BRYANT-WOOLRIDGE
Author of Read Between the Lies

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 226 pages
• Publisher: One World/Ballantine (October 29, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034545930X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345459305
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.6 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,278,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

native of Columbus, OH now proud resident of KY; former corporate borg turned writer-teacher-family tree hugger!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In Search of Self, December 13, 2002

By 

Dawn R Reeves "tamardi" (Harrisburg, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dancing on the Edge of the Roof (Paperback)

Dancing On the Edge of the Roof is the story of one woman's struggle with her current life and her need for another. At forty-two years old, Juanita has had it with her manipulating and dead beat adult children, her job and her surroundings. What does she do................she jumps on a Greyhound bus and heads west to points unknown. What she discovers is an entire world so different from her past surroundings that she seeks further knowledge by staying awhile.

The residents of Paper Moon, Montana are so smitten with Juanita that they welcome her and her knowledge of cooking with open arms. While in Paper Moon Juanita discovers a cast of offbeat characters that are as strange to her as she is to them. Several characters play an intimate role in Juanita's metamorphosis, but the one that stands out and forces her to seek her true self is Jesse Gardiner, a full- blooded Indian with his own demons that he must conquer. With Juanita's interference in his restaurant business and with his suffering, Jesse and Juanita form a strange bond that may be broken if she leaves Paper Moon.

Dancing On the Edge of the Roof is a poignant adventure that is both humorous and inspiring of one woman's gumption to change the course of her life in search of self. A very good and a recommended first novel!
Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves, APOOO BookClub

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What We Fear, We Create..., November 28, 2005

By 

Jacelya Jones "Quantum Being" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dancing on the Edge of the Roof (Paperback)

I am sure many of us have heard this Dr. Phil-ism. I believe it is true in all its forms--self-fulfilling prophecies and such. DANCING ON THE EDGE OF THE ROOF is a simple, straight-forward book, and readers will benefit from its eloquence. Exaggerated, overblown writing may have its place, but Sheila Williams' first book will have a place in your spirit. Strip away the main character's (Jaunita Louis') skin color, occupation, neighborhood--all of the superficial things that can separate us from her story, and we will see ourselves. Facing the same challenges. On the same journey toward fulfillment.

What I got from DANCING ON THE EDGE OF THE ROOF was a lesson: Do everything you fear to do. Get locks or a long weave, if you must. Learn to merengue. Take a trip to northern China. Study at an institution for culinary arts or interior design. Take your vacation in Fiji. Have a baby at 40. Get your MBA at 54. Do it all, because this is the only life we get. Even those who believe in a second life cannot be sure, so we ought to make the best of this world, this life's opportunities.

I was reminded that I cannot blame anyone but me if I don't take those chances in life that will, in the end, make me the best form of myself that I can achieve.

Good For The Soul.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice, One-sitting Read, November 29, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Dancing on the Edge of the Roof (Paperback)

The premise of this book is a lot of fun...a Forty-something woman who has never been able to rise above the hand she was dealt, regardless of how hard she struggled, admits her failings and the troubles, decides she needs a new game, and beats it out of town. I loved Juanita and the nerve she shows in standing up for her own survival, realizing that she has somehow been enabling her children to use her (any good mom tries to do for them, right?) and figuring out what is needed to save both her children and herself. She's sorry for the mistakes she's made but not willing to be suffocated by them. Cheers for Juanita! This was a nice, cold-weather-by-the-fireplace-under-a-quilt story. There were a few places where I wished for a little more of the fine, liquid, story-telling qualities to stay. Mainly, when she first meets her new love interest, the vehemence she displays, indeed, at almost every word from him, is just not verified. She is a woman on a quest but the nasty outbursts don't seem to fit with the way her character was created. She just does't seem that unbalanced and angry and with all her other encounters, she is patient and sympathetic. I guess it was supposed to show how he put her on edge from the start, but for me there wasn't enough motivation for ripping his head off at every turn and constantly (annoyingly) throwing anything loose at him every time he opened his mouth. Maybe she's trying to show who's boss before they get started? the constantly flying towels, fruit, etc seemed like she was stepping into the aggressor's role of abuse that she had run from time after time. Still, that aside, and it was a small part of the book, the story was carried out in a slick, tight format, and was a nice way to spend a few hours. I liked the book over all and look forward to this author's coming career.