Praise and Reviews
Dancing Backward in Paradise is the debut novel of award-winning theater
actress Vera Jane Cook, about one young women's quest to find herself
in "Paradise" - New York City in the 1960s, a place beset by hippies,
ambition, and the turbulence of the civil rights era. At first,
nineteen-year-old trailer park resident Grace Place enjoys amorous
trysts with her lover, Lenny Bean, more than anything else; but urged by
her mother to seek fame and fortune in New York City, she works as a
cleaning lady for the wealthy Betty Ann Houseman. When her lover betrays
her and seeks to steal Betty Ann's estate, Grace is shocked, yet
remains intent upon fulfilling her mother's wish and seeing New York
City with her best friend, Ginny Jo. Together they will discover
unforgettable surprises in this Eric Hoffer Award-winning novel. Highly
recommended. Midwest Book Review
