The Sugarless Plum [Hardcover]

Zippora Karz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2009

For dancer Zippora Karz, a rising young star with the famed New York City Ballet, being diagnosed with diabetes could easily have ended all her dreams. She was just twenty-one when she was plucked from the corps de ballet to dance solo roles like the Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker. It was near the end of a grueling season when she became exhausted, dizzy, and excessively thirsty. Heavy pancake makeup covered the sores under her arms that would not heal, but still Karz neglected to return her doctor s urgent calls. When she finally went to the doctor, she learned that her blood sugar was excessively high. If she continued to ignore her symptoms, Karz risked heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, and amputation of toes, feet, and legs. Because she was over twenty, doctors misdiagnosed her with Type 2 diabetes, when in fact she had juvenile (or Type 1) diabetes. Her weight dropped and she became dangerously ill as a result of being prescribed the wrong treatment. Once correctly diagnosed and placed on an insulin regimen, she would inject herself with unsafe doses before going on stage in ill-judged attempts to obtain peak performance. The potentially fatal result of Karz s self-experimentation became all too real when she nearly put herself into a coma.

Balancing ballet and her blood sugar would be a long and difficult struggle for Karz, but eventually she learned to value her body and work with it, rather than rage at its limitations. In The Sugarless Plum, Karz shares her journey from denial, shame and mis-education about her illness to how she lead an active, balanced, and satisfying life as an insulin-dependent diabetic and ballet star. Through her fascinating story, those struggling with diabetes and other serious illnesses can find encouragement and inspiration as well as practical advice on achieving physical and emotional wellness.

After sixteen years with the New York City Ballet, Karz retired and took her passion and skills into a whole new arena as a diabetes educator and advocate, where today she inspires people to not just manage their illness, but to thrive and fulfill their passions. The Sugarless Plum takes readers deep into the heart and soul of a young dancer, and is a remarkable testament to determination and perseverance.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1987, when Karz was 21 and dancing in the corps of the prestigious New York City Ballet, she began to suffer constant thirst and dizziness, frequent urination and oozing sores under her arms. After an initial misdiagnosis and months of denying the seriousness of her condition, Karz faced the devastating reality that, as a type 1 diabetic, she would have to take insulin injections for the rest of her life, check her blood-sugar levels at least 10 times a day and was at a high risk for infection and even amputation. Karz details the ups and downs of her childhood, illness and 16-year NYCB career, from a low-blood-sugar episode that almost derailed a performance in Copenhagen to dancing with George Balanchine himself at a School of American Ballet rehearsal; being cast as the Nutcracker's Sugar Plum Fairy; and her promotion to soloist six years after her diagnosis. Karz's prose is simple, and although ballet fans may wish for more insider gossip, Karz offers a satisfying portrait of a dancer making her mark at a competitive world-class company. Diabetics and athletes in particular will gain inspiration from her perseverance, acceptance and control of a debilitating disease. (Nov.)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* After learning to dance in Thailand during her dad’s army tour, Karz studied at George Balanchine’s School of the American Ballet, the training ground for the New York City Ballet. At 17, she danced as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, and at 20 she danced in company cofounder Jerome Robbins’ Goldberg Variations. Loving the “order and control” of dance, Karz was shaken to the core when she was diagnosed with diabetes at age 21. Failed attempts at self-healing were followed by insulin injections and blood tests throughout her demanding routine of classes, rehearsal, and evening performances—all in secret to conceal the severity of her illness. Six years later, after she’d toured internationally despite frightening fluctuations in blood sugar levels, she remained in the corps de ballet, then was promoted to soloist. One of the pleasures in this empowering journey of talent and determination is Karz’s faultless writing; it’s never awkward or stilted even when she provides medical and technical dance facts. This winning memoir will appeal strongly to readers interested in dance, health, and artists’ memoirs. --Whitney Scott

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin (November 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373892039
• ISBN-13: 978-0373892037
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #289,571 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pas de deux and point shoes, December 3, 2009

By 

Jessie Potts "Book Taster" (Terre d'Ange) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sugarless Plum (Hardcover)

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The Sugarless Plum by Zippora Karz has many layers to it, and many secrets that if you look hard enough, you can unlock. Zippora Karz (a little backround) is a famous ballerina who moved up in the New York City Ballet ranks from a student, to a member of the Corp de ballet, to finally the coveted Soloist role. What non dancers may not realize is that there is a higher role, the Prima Ballerina role who is above the Soloist. I think the fact that it took Zippora many many years (in fact she was in her late 20's) to be promoted adds to the element of realism and endurance. What I mean is that this is not a memoir of a famous Prima dancer who struggled with Diabetes, yet was the star of the company. Zippora struggled with her identity right to the very end of her career, and often was passed up on roles because of her health and balancing issues.

As a dancer I appreciated the detailed lives of the company members, I was amazed reading about the famous Balanchine and couldn't believe how lucky Zippora was to come in on the end of a choreographically spectacular era. I also (while no where near Company level) sympathized with her weight and eating issues as well as the strive for your teachers to notice you, and how it feels to watch some of your friends surpass you. As a person I felt my heart go out with her struggle through even the early stages of diagnosing the disease. I had no idea just how far the medical field has come along with in 20 years. The most important part to me though was how Zippora found herself after she retired. For many people who fall inlove with the stage and give their blood sweat and tears to it, stepping off it can be a difficult time, one when many lose themselves. I can only imagine the decision was so much harder for her, because she fought even harder for her right to be on stage and her right to control her own body again.

This is a wonderful memoir that anyone will appreciate, people with diabetes can relate and take strength from, and dancers can learn from and overcome whatever is preventing them from doing what they love. I don't normally read autobiographical books, but Zippora's dialogue flowed naturally and made me want to really hear what she's saying, not just listen.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and fascinating autobiography of a prima ballerina, November 25, 2009

By 

Denise Crawford "DC" (Missouri, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sugarless Plum (Hardcover)

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This memoir of her career as a ballerina with the New York City Ballet is an insightful and moving look inside the life of Zippora Karz. Her association with this famed company began at age 18 in the corps de ballet and continued for the next sixteen years as she was noticed and groomed for principal and solo roles by the incredible choreographers of the NYCB. Her insider's description of the life of a dancer rising to the peak of her profession was fascinating and the details of the inner workings of the huge ballet company were really interesting.

Although Zippora was amazingly talented and was dancing her dream, her life was anything but easy. Her technique, passion, intensity, and perfectionism -- all part of the work ethic that a truly disciplined ballerina needs to have -- got her noticed and cast in many of the company's ballets at that time. The incredible class, rehearsal and performance schedule began to take its toll, however, and when Zippora first started experiencing symptoms of thirst, excessive urination, extreme hunger, sores that wouldn't heal, exhaustion and muscle fatigue -- she thought that's all it was -- overwork. Despite her denial that anything medically was wrong, Zippora did finally obtain blood work that provided her with a diagnosis of diabetes -- but, because she was 21 years old at the time, the doctor mistakenly assumed it was Type II rather than Type I DM and Zippora did not initially receive the correct treatment regimen. She went through years of illness but danced on despite her failing health and her dangerous blood sugar fluctuations. She tried all types of special diets, insulin injection (guesswork), homeopathic treatmets, and many other remedies until finally meeting the physician who would help her learn to control her diabetes and balance her exercise, diet, and insulin needs. After getting her blood sugar within normal limits, Zippora was able to continue her work with the NYCB and retired after having performed many incredible roles with the company. Her triumph over diabetes was made even more complete when she took on the roles of educator, advocate, and speaker for those affected with the incurable disease.

I liked this book particularly for the glimpse it gave into the heart and soul of a prima ballerina. The life sounds romantic and fantastic, but behind the scenes we see that the passion to dance must be translated into many hours of hard, grueling work in order to present the beauty of ballet that is seen on stage. To be a dancer on that level requires determination, self control, and discipline -- not to mention incredible physical strength and endurance.

I'd recommend this book to any aspiring dancer just for the descriptions of the life of a ballerina, but also to any young person who is diagnosed with diabetes. The book is a testament to Zippora Karz's ability to use her life experiences as a way to inspire and encourage others to dream big and to achieve physical and emotional balance -- with or without the threat of serious illness.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars " I hated my body for ruining my life", April 10, 2010

By 

Shannon Freeman "discerning spirit" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sugarless Plum (Hardcover)

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Zippora Karz is not your typical ballarina..... she is, of course, pretty and thin, determined and talented, all of the requite traits for a successful dancer. Yet, there's more to her story than what she illustrates in motion.

Karz was clearly ill during much of her early career. She was equally, if not more so , adament about her craft. This, as one may guess, was a detriment to her increasingly deteriorating health. Scores and scores of symptoms that screamed her malady failed to get the attention they desperately sought; the only ones of any concern to her were the obvious ones (sores, etc.) that impeded her dancing, or detracted from her physical beauty.

"The Sugarless Plum" is a true story about a ballarina (Karz) who ended up with a diagnosis of Type I diabetes (juvenile diabetes), but only after untold damage to her body. Does she eventually prevail over the illness? Yes. Is she able to continue her career, albeit somewhat modified? Yes. Is this a cautionary tale? Yes.

There is inspiration to be found in Karz's story; she, indisputably, has pluck and resiliance. However, "pushing through" dominates most of the book, a phenomenon we see far too often in athletes, especially young ones, with a result of permanent damage to their bodies. What is unclear is whether this kind of perserverance should be glorified.

In my humble opinion this is more of an indictment on those surrounding her (minus her doting grandmother, thank heavens for those blessed souls) than anything else. Professional dance is known for its notorious lack of oversight concerning the health of its performers.

Karz had a dream, and she's done an admirable job of fulfilling it. Still, the health issues she willfully ignored do not serve as a positive role model. This book is somewhat engaging, but only for those who can relate to the author's particular ambition. For those who have diabetes it is downright disheartening.