And So, We Dance

In And So, We Dance, Leigh loses herself in memories of her life and her wife's cancer journey. The novel started out as a memoir, and then I began to hear Leigh (LL) and Lizzie's (LiLiz) inner children talk to me. The magical elements that emerged soften the tragedy of losing a loved one. Blending emotional intimacy with quiet surrealism, the story explores lesbian love, grief, and the inner selves we call forth to help us navigate when everything else is lost. Leigh finally comes out of the closet where she had lived since she was 15. She meets and marries the love of her life, Lizzie, only to face a battle much worse than closet dwelling. Lizzie's cancer diagnosis turns their lives upside down. As Leigh loses herself in her memories, she finds her inner child in the body of a six-year-old hitchhiking on the highway, waiting for her. Little Leigh (LL) tries to help her through the battle she and Lizzie fight. Lizzie's inner child, LiLiz, also joins, and the four struggle against the Stranger, cancer, who threatens their lives. The author holds a PhD from Emory University, has studied under Anya Auchtenberg, and is a member of a weekly writing group and Pitch to Published. She is a published poet, and her book is entitled Journeys.