Review of Learning to DANCE with Your Demons

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Nonso Samuelson
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Review of Learning to DANCE with Your Demons

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[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Learning to DANCE with Your Demons" by Francesca Flood, Ed.D..]
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3 out of 4 stars
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When one talks about dance, we envision the body's movement to the rhythm of a song or beat. Dancing with a demon never comes to mind. And yet, this book, Learning to D.A.N.C.E with Your Demons, shows how to do just that. Francesca Flood uses the term "demons" in a peculiar sense—she isn't talking about beings with horns, tails, or pitchforks—to describe some attributes that may dilute our quality of life and stunt our potential. Using the acronym "D.A.N.C.E," Flood teaches the reader how to defeat these demons—anger, ego, labels, and more—by first agreeing to dance with them. What demons do you struggle with? What are the tools needed to deal with them? Find out in this refreshing self-help book.

This book employed a unique approach to addressing these debilitating issues. I especially enjoyed how Flood dealt with each demon in separate chapters. It helped with the clarity of her writing. It was also interesting how she used different dance styles and routines from all over the world to flesh out her explanations and give solutions to these problems. Flood pointed to dance as an ancient method our ancestors used to communicate with realms and beings beyond our physical reality. This was the assertion on which she formed her idea of dancing with demons, and the rest of her writing built on this foundational truth. It was an interesting connection, in my opinion. On a lighter note, I learned a thing or two about the history and diversity of dance that I didn't know before.

The author gave insight into attaining self-discovery, self-awareness, and self-realization on the way to dealing with these demons. The book contained vital insight on conquering one's fear and attaining happiness while admitting one's flaws. There was also a vastness to her writing that I enjoyed; she borrowed and blended knowledge from psychology, art, philosophy, and spirituality to form her perspectives. Her numerous references and citations in this regard provided empirical and spiritual support for her assertions.

Perhaps the most eye-catching feature of her writing was the D.A.N.C.E acronym. It stands for "detect, access, neutralize, choreograph, and engage." She used this acronym at the end of each chapter to explain how to address each demon. I liked this because it was both effective and easy to commit to memory. In addition to being clear, Flood's writing was also engaging and interactive. She frequently asked the reader questions to make her writing feel more conversational.

Sadly, there were many instances where two or more words were written together. While these looked like grammatical issues on the surface, the sheer number of these occurrences led me to believe they may be formatting problems and not grammatical ones. Still, for the sake of reading and comprehension, I have to view them as grammatical problems and assume this book wasn't professionally edited. Other than this, the content of the book was clear, concise, and creative. Consequently, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to people who aim for self-development and want to improve their overall quality of life.

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Learning to DANCE with Your Demons
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Uzo_Reviews
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Post by Uzo_Reviews »

I love authors that use every means possible to make their book memorable. Like she did with the acronym. Nice review.
onyii_review
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Post by onyii_review »

Sounds like a book that will be ideal for people with life struggles. Nice review.
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