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You may know Michaela DePrince from the documentary First Position, which follows three young ballet dancers through their pre-professional training and participation in the Youth America Grand Prix.
Michaela, now a soloist with the Dutch National Opera and Ballet, wrote her memoir,Taking Flight,in collaboration with her adoptive mother, Elaine DePrince.
Born into war-torn Sierra Leone and orphaned at a young age, DePrince's story is one of unprecedented strength and resilience.
After her biological father is killed by a militant group of government rebels, Michaela (then known by the name Mabinty Bangura) and her mother are forced to live with Michaela's abusive uncle.
When Michaela's mother dies of a fever, her uncle abandons her at an orphanage.
At the orphanage, she stumbles across a page from a magazine, featuring a beautiful photo of a ballerina en pointe.
Michaela decides that one day she will be like the ballerina on the page.
When she is four, an American family — the DePrinces — adopt
Michaela and put her in dance classes.
This incredible journey, from war orphan to ballerina, is a page-turner and must-read.