Synopses & Reviews
The studio was decorated in the style of Don't Be Afraid, We're Not a Cult. All was white and blond and clean, as though the room had been designed for surgery, or Swedish people. The only spot of color came from the Tibetan prayer flags strung over the doorway into the studio. In flagrant defiance of my longtime policy of never entering a structure adorned with Tibetan prayer flags, I removed my shoes, paid my ten bucks, and walked in...
Ten years ago, Claire Dederer put her back out while breastfeeding her baby daughter. Told to try yoga by everyone from the woman behind the counter at the co-op to the homeless guy on the corner, she signed up for her first class. She fell madly in love.
Over the next decade, she would tackle triangle, wheel, and the dreaded crow, becoming fast friends with some poses and developing long-standing feuds with others. At the same time, she found herself confronting the forces that shaped her generation. Daughters of women who ran away to find themselves and made a few messes along the way, Dederer and her peers grew up determined to be good, good, good — even if this meant feeling hemmed in by the smugness of their organic-buying, attachment-parenting, anxiously conscientious little world. Yoga seemed to fit right into this virtuous program, but to her surprise, Dederer found that the deeper she went into the poses, the more they tested her most basic ideas of what makes a good mother, daughter, friend, wife — and the more they made her want something a little less tidy, a little more improvisational. Less goodness, more joy.
Poser is unlike any other book about yoga you will read — because it is actually a book about life. Witty and heartfelt, sharp and irreverent, Poser is for anyone who has ever tried to stand on their head while keeping both feet on the ground.
Review
"Dederer contributes nuggets of yoga trivia paired with a droll, self-effacing delivery that's both down-to-earth and pleasingly introspective. Delicious fun with a friendly nudge for readers on the fence about yoga." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Dederer's humor is tangy and precision-aimed; her targets are the sine qua non of memoirs: mothers and marriage. A book reviewer and social critic...Dederer writes superbly and offers sharp insights into family dynamics as well as hatha yoga's impact on American life." Booklist
Review
"Poser is a powerful, honest, ruefully funny memoir about one woman's open-hearted reckoning with her demons." New York Times
Review
"It's got the gravitational pull of a good novel and an unusually genuine voice that envelops the reader swiftly.... Dederer sparkles when introspection is ruthless — the result reads true and funny." Seattle Times
Review
"From the bendier-than-thou instructors to the more-locavore-than-thou preschool parents, Dederer captures everyone in her world with humanity and gentle wit. So many readers will relate to her story" Boston Globe
Synopsis
After throwing her back out, Dederer was told to try yoga. Over the next decade, she would become fast friends with some poses and develop long-standing feuds with others. At the same time, she found herself confronting the forces that shaped her generation.
About the Author
Claire Dederer's essays, criticism, and reporting have appeared in Vogue, the New York Times, Slate, Salon, Yoga Journal, Real Simple, the Nation and in newspapers around the country. She has taught writing at the University of Washington. A fourth-generation Seattle native, she lives with her family on Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound.