From Publishers Weekly
In this no-holds-barred memoir, Bertine tells how she set her heart on making it to the top in the skating world, was accepted into the Ice Capades in the late 1990s and lost her dream when the company folded just as she was about to join. Determined to be a professional skater at any cost, she joined lesser ice shows, first Holiday on Ice, where she performed in Europe dressed in animal costumes, and then Hollywood on Ice, where she traveled to remote South American villages in a circus-style caravan, sleeping in shabby hotels and changing costumes in a crowded, smelly trailer. Even more demoralizing, the skaters in this show were subjected to Sunday weigh-ins, for skinniness was the goal, and she was deemed overweight because of the muscular body she had worked hard to develop. Obsessed with becoming thin, she starved herself until she became physically and mentally ill. Finally, after realizing that she had a serious problem, she made elaborate plans to escape, until the show downsized, releasing her. She returned home, regained her health, became a triathlete and now pursues that sport as ardently as skating. Bertine recounts all this in straightforward and often amusing prose, condemning people and venues that have disappointed her: her mother, who apparently wanted a glamour girl, not an athlete, for a daughter; her wealthy hometown of Bronxville, N.Y.; and the ice shows. She also presents a harrowing description of the levels of degradation to which she sank because of the eating disorder. Her book should serve as a cautionary tale for ambitious young people who hope to make it to the top in the sports world. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Larry Colton, author
"...hits a literary triple lutz...insightful, honest, and best of all, irreverent...."


Kirk Johnson, author
"Bertine...illuminates with vivid detail the glossy but eccentric corners of the professional figure skating business..."


Book Description
Anyone who has known--or been--a little girl dreaming of becoming a skater, ballerina, or professional athlete will love this comic, heartfelt memoir about what happens after those dreams come true. After years of intensive training, Bertine finally becomes a professional figure skater--and finds herself traveling through South America with "Hollywood on Ice," a portable ice rink and an international cast of odd characters in tow. At show time, the costume trailer is transformed into a bizarre half-Disney, half-Penthouse maelstrom of activity as the skaters apply false eyelashes the size of caterpillars and wriggle into ever more revealing costumes--from The Little Mermaid to Flashdance. Some performers dress as farm animals and others are the real thing: an actual cow, duck, and chicken take the ice in their very own skates. But the real show-stopper is the Michael Jackson number, starring a blond, middle-aged Canadian whose beer belly barely fits into his flashy spandex costume. When Bertine realizes that going pro means betraying all her athletic ideals, she plots a daring escape straight out of Mission Impossible--breaking into a safe to steal back her passport between the Barbie scene and the Flintstones on Ice number! A vivid and entertaining account of the darker side of showbiz, ALL THE SUNDAYS YET TO COME is also a poignant and utterly winning story of a female athlete's spirit and perseverance.


About the Author
Kathryn Bertine is a former professional figure skater and currently competes as an elite triathlete. She graduated from Colgate University and holds an MFA in nonfiction from the University of Arizona. Her essays have appeared in numerous publications, most recently in ESPN: The Magazine. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

What happens when you take a dedicated figure skater, add sequins and feather headdresses, and plunk her down on a portable ice rink in South America? In her hilarious and heartfelt memoir, Kathryn Bertine tells the strange-but-true story of what life is really like behind the glitz and glamour of professional skating. Bertine's childhood dream comes true when she earns a place in a touring ice show. After all those years of predawn lessons, serious competitions, and grueling practices, she is finally going to skate at a professional level. But as she travels through the back roads of Chile and Argentina in a rickety bus with the international cast of Hollywood on Ice, she wonders if this was exactly the dream she had in mind. Gone are the days of athleticism and artistry. In a costume trailer that doubles as a dressing room, Hollywood on Ice is half Disney, half Playboy. The skaters apply false eyelashes the size of caterpillars and wriggle into progressively more revealing costumes -- from The Little Mermaid to the Flint-stones to Flashdance. Some performers dress up as animals; some real animals actually skate. The undeniable showstopper is the Michael Jackson number, starring a middle-aged blond with a beer belly that is barely contained by his flashy spandex costume.

But Kathryn Bertine is no quitter, and she sticks it out -- with laugh-out-loud humor and unfailing grace -- through backstage rivalries and dreaded Sunday night weigh-ins, through ant-infested hotel rooms and terrifying quantities of stage makeup. But as she comes to fully understand the differences between showbiz and sports, Bertine must make the hardest choice of her life. Anyone who has known -- or been -- a little girl dreaming of becoming a skater, dancer, or professional athlete will find here a poignant, funny, and utterly winning story of a young woman's courage, resolve, and grace under pressure.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In this no-holds-barred memoir, Bertine tells how she set her heart on making it to the top in the skating world, was accepted into the Ice Capades in the late 1990s and lost her dream when the company folded just as she was about to join. Determined to be a professional skater at any cost, she joined lesser ice shows, first Holiday on Ice, where she performed in Europe dressed in animal costumes, and then Hollywood on Ice, where she traveled to remote South American villages in a circus-style caravan, sleeping in shabby hotels and changing costumes in a crowded, smelly trailer. Even more demoralizing, the skaters in this show were subjected to Sunday weigh-ins, for skinniness was the goal, and she was deemed overweight because of the muscular body she had worked hard to develop. Obsessed with becoming thin, she starved herself until she became physically and mentally ill. Finally, after realizing that she had a serious problem, she made elaborate plans to escape, until the show downsized, releasing her. She returned home, regained her health, became a triathlete and now pursues that sport as ardently as skating. Bertine recounts all this in straightforward and often amusing prose, condemning people and venues that have disappointed her: her mother, who apparently wanted a glamour girl, not an athlete, for a daughter; her wealthy hometown of Bronxville, N.Y.; and the ice shows. She also presents a harrowing description of the levels of degradation to which she sank because of the eating disorder. Her book should serve as a cautionary tale for ambitious young people who hope to make it to the top in the sports world. (Nov.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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