Dancing in the Narrows - by Anna Penenberg (Paperback)

About the Book

What happens when something unpredictable changes everything in your life? When her daughter is debilitated by chronic Lyme disease, single mother Anna Penenberg descends into the underworld of Lyme treatment, entering into a desperate, years-long struggle to save her daughter's life.

Book Synopsis

Dancing in the Narrows chronicles a mother and daughter's multiyear journey through illness and trauma. At sixteen, Anna's youngest daughter, Dana, is stricken with a mysterious and debilitating condition, eventually diagnosed as Lyme disease. Desperate to find a cure, the two women are thrust into the established medical world, then far beyond. Full of adventure, humor, and blind faith, Dancing in the Narrows is an inspiring story of self-discovery as a single mother fights to save the life of her child.

Review Quotes

2022 Page Turner Screenplay Award Finalist

2022 Page Turner Book Adaptation Needed Finalist

2021 Best Book Awards Winner in Autobiography/Memoir
2021 International Book Awards Finalist in Narrative Non-Fiction

"Penenberg writes with a mother's passion, humor, and love about her determination to cure her daughter. Perhaps more important is that she shares her doubts and frailties, taking on the medical establishment, her own state of mind, and even her daughter. Dancing in the Narrows is as beautifully written as it is profound."
--BRETT PAESEL, LA Times best-selling author of Mommies Who Drink and Everything is Just Fine

"In Dancing in the Narrows, Anna's unceasing determination to save her daughter from death or a painful life of chronic illness becomes a long journey of steadfast intuition. You will undoubtedly be inspired by this story."
--JJ VIRGIN, New York Times best-selling author of Warrior Mom

"Fueled by a mother's fierceness, Penenberg takes the lead where Western medicine won't go. With grace and wisdom, she beautifully grounds the unfathomable in ordinary tasks of daily life. This book is a meditation on courage in the face of the unknowable, and offers solace to others facing the same."
--CYNTHIA LI, MD, author of Brave New Medicine

"Dancing in the Narrows demonstrates the evolutionary relationship between mothers, daughters, and their destinies."
--GURU SINGH, Kundalini Yoga master teacher and author of Buried Treasures

"In Dancing In The Narrows, Anna takes courageous action to unravel her own emotional imprints that could affect her daughter. A must-read for anyone who suffers from birth trauma or has a child who does. This odyssey will give you hope."
--ANNIE BROOK, Ph.D., author of Birth's Hidden Legacy and The Developing Infant

"Dancing in the Narrows is a powerful adventure by a mother and her daughter into the landscape of the heart. Life has a way of asserting itself to teach us all its lessons. Anna Penenberg is a gifted writer who captivates the reader with a story of the endurance that hope brings and how love continues to uplift and inspire. Kudos--you spread my heart wide open."
--ELIZABETH R. KIPP, author of The Way Through Chronic Pain

"Dancing in the Narrows provides a close-up look at the fears and hopes of a parent desperate to save her child, who is clinging to life despite its pains. This story will be read with serious intent by anyone who has experienced even a small portion of the pair's long and strained yet close-knit bonding."
--BOOKREPORTER.COM

"Dancing in the Narrows is a poignant, memorable book about a young woman's struggle with chronic Lyme disease and her treatment options, as well as the enduring, courageous connection between a mother and daughter in times of grief and crisis. The mother and daughter here come across clearly and vividly, but primarily in relationship to the disease and how it has changed both of their lives. Readers will be moved by the sacrifices both women have had to make in the face of this often misunderstood and frequently devastating disease. This memoir is well-written, gripping, and emotionally resonant."
--THE BOOKLIFE PRIZE