DANCE WHILE THE FIRE BURNS

Split into three sections, the memoir opens in 1964 when Lucas, 14, learns that her family is suddenly moving to Australia. It was, as Lucas shows, one of a handful of moves brought on by her father’s gambling problem, which eventually divided the family when Lucas and her mother refused to move anywhere else with him. As she got older, she found herself falling victim to a variety of manipulators: the guy from the bar who disappeared after asking her to deposit a $2,000 check that later bounced; the boss who was a con artist; and Mark, the controlling man she married who refused to allow her to pursue an art degree. Things finally started looking up for her after she divorced Mark and met kind, charming Greg, who supported her dreams. But after years of hard work, while she was studying ceramics at UCLA and her future as a studio artist looked promising, the health of her brother Chuck—a gay man who had AIDS—took a turn for the worse, and she stepped away from everything to take care of him. It’s a heart-wrenching story, with the first two sections emphasizing Lucas’ quest for stability and the last section focusing on her healing through art. From 1964 to 1996, the book explores AIDS and being gay in a time when it wasn’t widely accepted. Lucas’ prose is sharp and easy to read: “My empowerment circle is destroyed. Instead of dancing through the flames, I’m being consumed by them.” The middle of the story occasionally lags as an abundance of art-related setbacks feels repetitive and slow the pacing. Still, her relationship with her brother is honest and raw, and though readers know the outcome from the beginning, the ending packs a punch.