How It Feels to Fly

A struggle with body dysmorphia forces one girl to decide if letting go of her insecurity also means turning her back on her dreams.

Sam has always known she’d be a professional dancer—but that was before her body betrayed her, sprouting unmanageable curves in all the wrong places. Lately, the girl staring back at Sam in the mirror is unrecognizable. And what’s worse, Sam can’t stop her scathing inner voice from taking over. Dieting doesn’t work, ignoring the whispers won’t help, and her overbearing mother just makes it worse.

Following a series of crippling anxiety attacks, Sam is sent off to a treatment camp for teens struggling with mental and emotional obstacles. Forced to open up to complete strangers, Sam must get through this if she wants to attend a crucial ballet intensive later in the summer. It seems hopeless until she starts confiding in Andrew, a camp counselor who sparks a confidence she was sure she’d never feel again. But when she’s faced with disappointing setbacks, will Sam succumb to the insecurity that imprisons her?

This is a compelling story about one girl’s efforts to overcome her worst enemy: herself.