This Time I Dance!: Creating the Work You Love (Paperback)

by Tama J. Kieves (Author) "Okay, my newfound hopeful friend, we begin..." (more)
Key Phrases: Creating Time, Village Inn, Rosebud Starts (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In the days of layoffs, cutbacks and tough competition in the job market, Kieves reminds readers that life may be better outside the boardroom. When the Harvard-educated lawyer took a rare vacation from her job at a corporate law firm, she realized that she couldn't bear the thought of returning. Watching the sun set over crashing waves, she resolved to lead the life she'd always been longing to live-that of a writer, teacher and creativity coach. This book of short, lively essays that Kieves wrote over the course of her journey of discovery and self-fulfillment includes anecdotes of embarrassing run-ins with former coworkers; disappointment or disbelief from relatives and mere acquaintances alike; and the challenge of paying the bills on an artist's salary ("Could I rent an apartment and buy Starbucks coffee on divine benevolence?"). Kieves triumphs again and again by trusting herself and not giving up. Undaunted by her own experiences with self-doubt and rejection letters, Kieves encourages her readers to "live unreasonably" and "step into the river" of their dream lives. This is not the most elegantly written book-Kieves can be a little breathless, a little cutesy-but it's an inspirational and honest guide to crafting a more creative life.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
These are all things that we have to deal with when going through a career change. What is most difficult is deciding to make the change, especially when you are good at what you do, and wonder whether you should just stick it out in an unhappy-albeit well-paid-environment instead of taking a risk and starting over doing something you love. In This Time I Dance!, Tama Kieves shares the inspiring wisdom that led her from being a successful Harvard lawyer to an even more successful writer and life coach. The best part? She's happy with her career!

We all look for what will make us happy in life, but we don't always make the choices that we should when it comes to sustaining that happiness. Tama Kieves shows how to do just that: how to stay happy and employed doing something you love, and what it takes to stop being a stressed-out worker and make peace with your career-and, most important, with yourself. Filled with solutions to the anxieties and roadblocks you may confront on your path, This Time I Dance! is for all those who are unfulfilled at work and uncertain of the practical steps that they should follow to achieve their dreams.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (September 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585425273
• ISBN-13: 978-1585425273
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,673 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good as inspiration... not a how-to manual, though, June 13, 2003

By	Karen Hodge "ndrew62" (Ohio United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: This Time I Dance!: Trusting the Journey of Creating the Work You Love (Hardcover)

Tama J. Kieves has written a fun-to-read account of her move from high stress to high energy, from the corporate rat race to excelling as a member of the human race. Her writing style is witty and her journey interesting.

If you're looking for an inspiring tale of how one woman reinvented her life, this is the book for you. If you know where you are going and just need a motivational voice to whisper success coaching thoughts into your ear, this is the book for you. However, if you, like me, have no idea what you want to be when you grow up, this may not be enough for you.

For those not in a position to just drop out of the corporate world and pursue there passions or those who have no clue what their passions are, this book may not be enough to keep you going either.

All in all, Kieves has an excellent writing style, and her voice comes to you as if she is sitting across your kitchen table sharing with you a decadent dessert and cup of really rich coffee. If you embrace it as a means to provoke thought but not as a road map for your future, you'll enjoy the read.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Deal....., February 4, 2004

By	Julie Jordan Scott "Writer, Life Coach - Owne... (Bakersfield, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: This Time I Dance!: Trusting the Journey of Creating the Work You Love (Hardcover)

As I read this book I felt like I was along on Tama Kieve's journey. Her book is like a "permission slip" which allows the ability to get off the crowded, usual path and onto the extraordinary path... the different, less traveled way AND the way back to our true selves.

Especially heart warming is the truthfulness of the writing.

Just because Kieves is a "Harvard Lawyer" doesn't mean this whole process was a piece of cake... not at all! Her doubts, her fears, her wonderings, musings and continuings are similar to the ones I have felt as I have traveled my "unconventional path."

As you seek your perfectly unique, beautiful -- and perhaps unconventional path -- you will, like me, laugh in recognition and delight to hear of the first Creative Writing class where Tama writes in amazement, "She had plumbing and plumbing problems! Then she yawned, revealing silver fillings. As if all that weren't enough, I happened to notice that a part of her hem hung longer than the rest of her denim, made-in- America, made-on-my-planet, skirt." followed by her HUGE a-ha "This writing guru was an ordinary woman!"

This book is wise, hilarious, inspiring, thought evoking and much much more than can be put into words.

Kieves chooses her words with artful thought. She literally seems to have lodged herself in my thoughts regularly. I know it is a book I will return to repeatedly.

Read this one now. You won't be disappointed.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for anyone wanting a change, July 16, 2003

By	M. E. Rode (Evergreen, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: This Time I Dance!: Trusting the Journey of Creating the Work You Love (Hardcover)

Tama's book was a godsend for me. As one who was teetering on the brink of leaving my adequate but soul-draining "corporate job" for years, this book punched through my fears and my doubts and gave me the spark I needed to finally do something about it.

Coming from a person who had much more to lose than I did but "did it anyway", Tama's telling of her story was exactly what I needed to get through the chorus of NO that played in my head every day ("What will I do instead? Oh no, I'll starve! Everyone would want my job...what will people think? What do I really want?") and move on to the next level of honesty with myself: "Get real, or you're wasting your time here, girl."

Everyone should read this book. It's magnificent.