Thank you, Nellie Bennett. Because of you I’m now dreaming of grabbing a floor-length skirt layered with ruffles and heading off to Spain to learn flamenco. Before reading “Only in Spain: A Foot-Stomping, Firecracker of a Memoir about Food, Flamenco, and Falling in Love” the idea never crossed my mind but because you so eloquently shared your sacrifices to follow your passion to learn authentic flamenco, I want to run away with gypsies, too.
Perfect for summer reading, “Only in Spain” is a love story, travelogue, and inspirational reminder to follow your passions. In addition to offering a generous taste of flamenco, it’s one of the few books on Spain written from a woman’s point of view.
Nellie, a shop girl in Sydney, Australia, discovers the fiery, sexy art form of flamenco and decides the only way to truly learn the Spanish dance is to travel to its motherland. She made sacrifices to save for the trip and while living in Seville, Spain as a means of survival. All ends well not in a traditional fairytale kind of way but in an empowering, coming of age way.
With each powerful stomp and graceful turn, I felt as though I was on the dance floor learning flamenco alongside Nellie. I felt her exhaustion after each dance session, frustration with the language barrier, and anxiety of running out of cash and living on a budget.
For anyone who feels stuck in life, “Only in Spain” is an inspirational reminder you have the ability to make the leap to live the life you want.
Now excuse me, just like The Kite Runner 
Disclosure: I received an advanced copy of the book for review purposes and this is my truthful opinion about the book. This post also includes affiliate links.
