Snake Hips: Belly Dancing and How I Found True Love

Anne Thomas Soffee

Jan 2003 · Chicago Review Press

About this eBook

This hilariously uplifting memoir follows an Arab American woman’s merry life as she shimmies her way from getting dumped by her tattoo-artist boyfriend to coming to grips with being single, ample, and 30. Feeling lost and heartbroken, Anne Thomas Soffee moves back home to Richmond, Virginia. Against the wishes of her extended family and friends, she enrolls in a belly dancing class hoping to heal her heart and reconnect with her Lebanese roots. Her life is never the same after she discovers the riotous world of American belly dancing, a warm and welcoming subculture where younger and thinner are not necessarily better. Wildly funny adventures ensue as a newly confident Soffee embarks on romantic adventures with a domineering sheik and a beautiful Lebanese boy-next-door. Among the zils (finger cymbals) and thrills of attending classes and performing in moose lodges and county fairs, Soffee is surprised to find happiness and true love along the way. This replaces 1556524587.

Ratings and reviews

i didn't put this book down from start to finish! got it as a christmas present on a whim from my sister in law and was totally mezmerized. there are a few parallels i've found in my life to anne's story and what wasn't was a fun read. if you haven't started bellydancing by the end of this book i'd be surprised. if you want to read a feel good, real life fairy tale i suggest you pick up this book and don't put it down til you're through!

I LOVE this book! Anne tells the inside story of the bellydance world with a lot of heart & humor. Really entertaining and informative, it gives a glimpse the world behind the sparkles. I loved following her adventures and was so happy for her when she found true love at last. I was given this book by a friend when I'd been dancing for a couple of years and was thinking of giving it up because I thought I was too old. But the books description of an 80-something year old dancer going out on a date convinced me to stick with it and here I am, over 60, still dancing, and enjoying many an adventure myself. Thanks Anne!

This is a funny, tough, tender book. You will want to read it again. You will want your daughter to read it. You will want your son to read it. And then you will want to read it again -- again.

About the author

Anne Thomas Soffee is a belly dancer and special education teacher. She has been employed as a bookseller, gas station attendant, heavy metal band wrangler, freelance music journalist, tattoo parlor lackey, and voiceover actress for kung fu movies. She lives in Richmond, Virginia.