Autobiography

The Wind at My Back: Resilience, Grace, and Other Gifts from My Mentor, Raven Wilkinson

The Wind at My Back: Resilience, Grace, and Other Gifts from My Mentor, Raven Wilkinson

  • Downloads：7837
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-11-15 18:21:35
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Misty Copeland
  • ISBN：1538753855
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Dani ，

I adored Misty's book so much。 Reading about her relationship with Raven and everything both of them had to overcome was such an eye-opening experience。 I have not read anything else from Misty， but I will be for sure after reading this book！ Thank you to the company that sponsored the Goodreads giveaway for an advanced copy of this book。 I adored Misty's book so much。 Reading about her relationship with Raven and everything both of them had to overcome was such an eye-opening experience。 I have not read anything else from Misty， but I will be for sure after reading this book！ Thank you to the company that sponsored the Goodreads giveaway for an advanced copy of this book。 。。。more

Krista ，

Thank you to Libro。fm for the ARC！ I knew very little about Misty before reading this book， but now I will definitely look more into her groundbreaking career。 While the book is shorter， Misty conveys her triumphs and struggles in a concise way。 I recommend the audiobook as Misty narrates herself。

Alexandra ，

Thanks to Libro。fm for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review！Anyone who’s interested in the world of ballet should give this book a try。 Misty Copeland is an incredible talent， and I loved learning about Raven Wilkinson and the relationship between the two women。 This was a quick listen that I’m really glad I picked up。

Tonja ，

I’ve always had a fascination with ballet and especially greats such as Misty Copeland。 Her story gave a personal look into the mental and physical dedication required to rise to her level。 The deep love and respect between Misty and mentor， Raven Wilkinson was touching。 A great deal of the book details the struggles they both faced as Black ballerina’s 。 The opposition came from inside their companies and the general public。 There are stories of physical danger， career limitations and psycholog I’ve always had a fascination with ballet and especially greats such as Misty Copeland。 Her story gave a personal look into the mental and physical dedication required to rise to her level。 The deep love and respect between Misty and mentor， Raven Wilkinson was touching。 A great deal of the book details the struggles they both faced as Black ballerina’s 。 The opposition came from inside their companies and the general public。 There are stories of physical danger， career limitations and psychological damage endured on her journey to becoming the first Black principal ballerina for American Ballet Theater。 Her story is fascinating and makes me want to know more。 I received a free copy from the publisher。 All views are my own。 4。2 stars 。。。more

M Moore ，

I love a good memoir that introduces me to someone I knew nothing about but leaves me googling for more information！ Misty Copeland's voice is strong， gracious and speaks truth about the struggles of being black in the world of professional ballet。 I really enjoyed this short， but impactful book。Thanks to Librofm and Grand Central Publishing for this complimentary audiobook。 My thoughts are my own。My reviews can also be seen at www。instagram。com/justonemoorebook。 I love a good memoir that introduces me to someone I knew nothing about but leaves me googling for more information！ Misty Copeland's voice is strong， gracious and speaks truth about the struggles of being black in the world of professional ballet。 I really enjoyed this short， but impactful book。Thanks to Librofm and Grand Central Publishing for this complimentary audiobook。 My thoughts are my own。My reviews can also be seen at www。instagram。com/justonemoorebook。 。。。more

Phoebe （readandwright） Wright ，

Incredible blend of story telling， history， and resilience。 Highly recommend the audio！

Laura ，

Read this review on Got Fiction？ Book BlogI was a ballerina once upon a time， and I read every single ballet memoir I could find in my local library。 I have long loved Misty Copeland， and I loved her other books。 It was absolutely a no-brainer for me to grab this one。 I think this is an excellent read， especially for anyone interested in the history of ballet in America， and being Black while dancing。The full title of this book is The Wind At My Back: Resilience， Grace， and Other Gifts From My M Read this review on Got Fiction？ Book BlogI was a ballerina once upon a time， and I read every single ballet memoir I could find in my local library。 I have long loved Misty Copeland， and I loved her other books。 It was absolutely a no-brainer for me to grab this one。 I think this is an excellent read， especially for anyone interested in the history of ballet in America， and being Black while dancing。The full title of this book is The Wind At My Back: Resilience， Grace， and Other Gifts From My Mentor， Raven Wilkinson…and it is very much a love letter to Misty Copelands mentor， Raven Wilkinson。 This book tackles racism， the current environment， being Black in ballet， and Misty’s struggles as a principal dancer in the American Ballet Theatre。 However the focus of this book is more on the mentor/mentee relationship between Misty and Raven as Raven guided Misty， and showed her that her perseverance would indeed reap reward。The friendship that developed between the two women was lovely and worth delving into。 This book leaves me wistful for my days in ballet， and Misty Copeland will always be one of my favorite dancers。 This book only strengthens my respect and admiration of her。 Everything she went through， everything she struggled against， she is a true icon， and reading about her mentor was a treat。I don’t often read memoirs， but this one was definitely worth the read。 You don’t have to be a fan of ballet， or of Misty Copeland to enjoy this book。***Advanced Reader Copy courtesy of the publisher Grand Central via Netgalley 。。。more

Kathryn Tam ，

I've long been an admirer of Misty Copeland， so naturally I really enjoyed this book。 She is an inspiration and I loved learning about her relationship with her mentor。 Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy。 I've long been an admirer of Misty Copeland， so naturally I really enjoyed this book。 She is an inspiration and I loved learning about her relationship with her mentor。 Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy。 。。。more

Leah M ，

Thank you to libro。fm for providing me with an ALC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review。I honestly enjoyed listening to this audiobook， and one of the things that I liked the most was that it was narrated by Misty Copeland herself。 She did a great job with presenting all of this information beautifully， and I especially loved that when she shared either her or Raven's joys， I could actually hear a smile in her voice。Misty takes us through the ups and downs of her journey as not onl Thank you to libro。fm for providing me with an ALC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review。I honestly enjoyed listening to this audiobook， and one of the things that I liked the most was that it was narrated by Misty Copeland herself。 She did a great job with presenting all of this information beautifully， and I especially loved that when she shared either her or Raven's joys， I could actually hear a smile in her voice。Misty takes us through the ups and downs of her journey as not only a well-known ballerina， but as a Black ballerina in a field that has been historically dominated by white people， and is still。 And on her journey， she crossed paths with another groundbreaking Black ballerina - Raven Wilkinson。 Raven's journey mirrors Misty's in a lot of ways， as she faced her own obstacles as a Black ballerina in the 1950s and 1960s。 While Raven struggled with segregation and blatant racism， Misty faces it in a more subtle way - but also has to fight in her own time。 I loved watching the mentorship bloom into a friendship， rooted in positivity and uplifting each other， celebrating joys and recouping after devastating setbacks， never allowing the other to give up。I would have loved to see more of this story - my only complaint was that it was too short。 I fell in love with both of these women， and wanted to learn more about them。 But overall， this is an amazing look into a world that so few of us get to see， and an even tinier corner of the ballet world - that reserved for women of color breaking into this field， and hopefully we'll get to see even more of them。 。。。more

wellreadtraveler ，

I listened to this book on audio and I enjoyed learning more about the whole ballet world and hearing the authors story。 I've watched a few documentaries on the subject and know these women and men work so hard to obtain their goal in the fast paced cut throat world of dance。 I respect the authors story and opinions however it took over the story for me which is why I gave it a 3 stars I listened to this book on audio and I enjoyed learning more about the whole ballet world and hearing the authors story。 I've watched a few documentaries on the subject and know these women and men work so hard to obtain their goal in the fast paced cut throat world of dance。 I respect the authors story and opinions however it took over the story for me which is why I gave it a 3 stars 。。。more

Dannie Lynn Fountain ，

I haven't read Misty's other work but am familiar with her career as a ballerina。 I vividly remember her inclusion in the 2016 UnderArmor commercial "I Will What I Want" and how it shattered my soul。 This book was a phenomenal build-upon that story and some of the true and dark history of racism in American ballet。 I received a complimentary audiobook from the publisher via libro。fm。 I haven't read Misty's other work but am familiar with her career as a ballerina。 I vividly remember her inclusion in the 2016 UnderArmor commercial "I Will What I Want" and how it shattered my soul。 This book was a phenomenal build-upon that story and some of the true and dark history of racism in American ballet。 I received a complimentary audiobook from the publisher via libro。fm。 。。。more

Heather Moll ，

I read Misty Copeland’s memoir Life in Motion and it was one of those memoirs where I struggled with the writing style and pacing， but found her story fascinating。 Since this work has a co-writer， I was curious to see if it came together better。Copeland was a prodigy and the first Black female principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre。 This book addresses how many believed she didn’t deserve to be in the room， how isolating that is， and also how it made Copeland question if she had what it too I read Misty Copeland’s memoir Life in Motion and it was one of those memoirs where I struggled with the writing style and pacing， but found her story fascinating。 Since this work has a co-writer， I was curious to see if it came together better。Copeland was a prodigy and the first Black female principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre。 This book addresses how many believed she didn’t deserve to be in the room， how isolating that is， and also how it made Copeland question if she had what it took。 These reflections led her to write about her own career and her mentor Raven Wilkinson， the first Black woman to receive a contract with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1955。It’s a critical look at how those who are “first” carry both a burden and an opportunity。 While I enjoyed seeing the friendship between them， I felt some sections jumped too quickly from one topic to the next。 The first third dragged， but after that it’s a fast and interesting read。 Overall， I wanted a deeper dive。 3。5 I received an arc from NetGalley 。。。more

Diana N。 ，

This is a great tribute to those who helped pave the way before us！ Misty not only tells her story and struggles， but tells her mentor Raven's struggles as well。I really enjoyed hearing Raven's journey in ballet in a world that was even more challenging than today due to racism。 Enough so that she wasn't safe and had to dance overseas。 Her relationship with Misty was really a beautiful friendship to see。 Raven was such a guiding force in Misty reaching her goals。This book really embodies perseve This is a great tribute to those who helped pave the way before us！ Misty not only tells her story and struggles， but tells her mentor Raven's struggles as well。I really enjoyed hearing Raven's journey in ballet in a world that was even more challenging than today due to racism。 Enough so that she wasn't safe and had to dance overseas。 Her relationship with Misty was really a beautiful friendship to see。 Raven was such a guiding force in Misty reaching her goals。This book really embodies perseverance and is an example to little girls out there that they can reach their dream too， no matter the color of their skin！ Every little step forward makes a difference for the future！Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review。 。。。more

Cookie ，

I haven't read any other work by Misty Copeland and I'm interested to read more of her work。 This one was pretty good。 It focused on Copeland's mentor/mentee relationship with Raven Wilkinson， and a little bit on Copeland's struggle to to the top as a Black ballerina。 Although I enjoyed this one， it went too quickly for me。 I wanted a deeper dive into the topics and experiences。⚠️: death of a loved one， racismI received a complimentary audiobook from the publisher via libro。fm I haven't read any other work by Misty Copeland and I'm interested to read more of her work。 This one was pretty good。 It focused on Copeland's mentor/mentee relationship with Raven Wilkinson， and a little bit on Copeland's struggle to to the top as a Black ballerina。 Although I enjoyed this one， it went too quickly for me。 I wanted a deeper dive into the topics and experiences。⚠️: death of a loved one， racismI received a complimentary audiobook from the publisher via libro。fm 。。。more

Mai ，

Ebook giveaway from NetGalley