AAPI Heritage Month
Lauren Kessler
21 ratings | 5 reviews | avg rating:4.00

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Lauren Kessler

Goodreads Author


Website

Twitter
laurenjkessler

Genre
Nonfiction, Memoir, History

Member Since
July 2008

URL


Lauren Kessler is an award-winning author and immersion reporter who combines lively narrative with deep research to explore everything from the gritty world of a maximum security prison to the grueling world of professional ballet; from the wild, wild west of the anti-aging movement to the hidden world of Alzheimer’s sufferers; from the stormy seas of the mother-daughter relationship to the full court press of women’s basketball. She is the author of 12 works of narrative nonfiction, including Pacific Northwest Book Award winner Dancing with Rose, Washington Post bestseller Clever Girl and Los Angeles Times bestseller The Happy Bottom Riding. She is also the author of Oregon Book Award winner Stubborn Twig, which was chosen as the book for ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

How do you deal with writer’s block?
Lauren Kessler Actually, I don't believe in writer's block. It's not that I don't experience (long) moments of creative paralysis. Of course I do. But I don't interp…moreActually, I don't believe in writer's block. It's not that I don't experience (long) moments of creative paralysis. Of course I do. But I don't interpret (or treat) these moments as "writer's block," which to me has heavy-duty psychological implications. I just think to myself: I am not yet ready to write. I have not yet figured out what I want to say. That's why I'm "blocked."(less)
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What’s the best thing about being a writer?
Lauren Kessler Two best things:
Being able to live multiple lives.
Wearing pajamas all day.…moreTwo best things:
Being able to live multiple lives.
Wearing pajamas all day.(less)
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Combine Editions

Average rating: 3.91 · 4,059 ratings · 857 reviews · 47 distinct works • Similar authors
Stubborn Twig: Three Genera...
3.94 avg rating — 1,025 ratings — published 1993 — 21 editions
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Raising the Barre: Big Drea...
3.54 avg rating — 827 ratings — published 2015 — 11 editions
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Dancing with Rose: Finding ...
4.34 avg rating — 602 ratings — published 2007 — 18 editions
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The Happy Bottom Riding Clu...
4.04 avg rating — 365 ratings — published 2000 — 11 editions
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Free: Two Years, Six Lives,...
4.14 avg rating — 272 ratings — published 2022 — 8 editions
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Counterclockwise: My Year o...
3.54 avg rating — 277 ratings — published 2013 — 8 editions
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My Teenage Werewolf: A Moth...
3.47 avg rating — 168 ratings — published 2010 — 9 editions
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A Grip of Time
4.38 avg rating — 132 ratings — published 2019 — 8 editions
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Clever Girl: Elizabeth Bent...
3.66 avg rating — 157 ratings — published 2003 — 19 editions
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Everything Changes Everythi...
4.53 avg rating — 77 ratings — 4 editions
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More books by Lauren Kessler…

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Lauren’s Recent Updates

Lauren Kessler joined the group Biography, Autobiography, Memoir
182692
Mar 24, 2026 11:22AM  · 
Lauren Kessler and 1 other person liked Corky's review of Everything Changes Everything: Love, Loss, and a Really Long Walk:
Everything Changes Everything by Lauren Kessler
"A masterful memoir combining the classic trail tale with the grief of profound loss. Kessler, within the first few pages made it clear that she was an artist capable of balancing the monotony of walking many miles a day with gut wrenching reflections" Read more of this review »
Jan 26, 2026 04:43PM  · see review ·  preview book
Lauren Kessler liked Jen Juenke's review of Everything Changes Everything: Love, Loss, and a Really Long Walk:
Everything Changes Everything by Lauren Kessler
"If you are expecting a dry, dusty book about walking the Camino Trail....look elsewhere.

This book was raw, emotional, and observant on someone deals with grief. WIth walking the Camino Trail thrown in.

I loved that it wasn't straightforward, it wasn'" Read more of this review »
Jan 26, 2026 04:42PM  · see review ·  preview book
More of Lauren's books…
Quotes by Lauren Kessler  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“The problem is understaffing. The problem is undertraining. The problem is high caregiver turnover. The problem is paying minimum wage. The problem is the eldercare industry. (I could go on, and so I will: The problem is undervaluing the elderly. The problem is fear of aging. The problem is fear of dying.)”
― Lauren Kessler, Dancing with Rose: Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer: One Daughter's Hopeful Story
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“They play like file clerks file.”
― Lauren Kessler, Dancing with Rose: Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer's
tags: humourous-situations
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“Being humble, I think, is one of the most underrated character traits around.”
― Lauren Kessler, Raising the Barre: Big Dreams, False Starts, & My Midlife Quest to Dance The Nutcracker
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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Reading with Style: This topic has been closed to new comments. Spring 2013 20.8 - Joanna's task - Presidentially 21 36 Mar 07, 2013 10:57AM  
The Seasonal Read...: This topic has been closed to new comments. Summer Challenge 2013: Completed Tasks (DO NOT DELETE POSTS) 2503 773 Aug 31, 2013 09:04PM  
The Seasonal Read...: This topic has been closed to new comments. Winter Challenge 2105: Completed Tasks (DO NOT DELETE POSTS) 3075 619 Feb 29, 2016 09:01PM  
A Million More Pages: Pack Santa's Sleigh 152 165 Jan 14, 2017 12:23AM  
Reading with Style: This topic has been closed to new comments. WI 20-21 Completed Tasks 997 86 Feb 28, 2021 09:01PM  
Reading with Style: This topic has been closed to new comments. WI 20-21 Name of the Game Questions 171 51 Mar 08, 2021 02:27AM  

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Lauren’s Groups

182692 Biography, Autobiography, Memoir — 2567 members — last activity 14 minutes ago
Everyone has a story to tell. This is a group to discuss the many types of biographies, autobiographies and memoirs. If it's a true life story, it bel ...more

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