Sara Solovitch

Playing Scared: a History and Memoir of Stage Fright Sara Solovitch

Publisher Marketing: Stage fright is one of the human psyche's deepest fears. Laurence Olivier learned to adapt to it, as have actors Salma Hayek and Hugh Grant. Musicians such as George Harrison and Adele have battled it and learned to cope. Others never do: In 1973, Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star pitcher Steve Blass suddenly could no longer find the strike zone; his career ended soon after. Surveys in the United States repeatedly rank public speaking as one of the top fears, affecting up to 74 percent of people. Sara Solovitch studied piano as a young child and fell in love with music. At ten, she played Bach and Mozart in her hometown's annual music festival, but was overwhelmed by fear. As a teen, she attended Eastman School of Music, where stage fright led her to give up aspirations of becoming a professional pianist. In her late fifties, Sara gave herself a one-year deadline to tame performance anxiety and play before an audience. She resumed music lessons, while exploring meditation, exposure therapy, cognitive therapy, biofeedback, beta blockers, and other remedies. She performed in airports, hospitals, and retirement homes before renting a public hall and performing for fifty guests on her sixtieth birthday. Using her own journey as inspiration, Solovitch has written a thoughtful and insightful examination of the myriad causes of stage fright and the equally diverse ways to overcome it, and a tribute to pursuing personal growth at any age. Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2015 (EAN 9781620400913, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 05/04/2015 (EAN 9781620400913, Hardcover) BookPage 06/01/2015 (EAN 9781620400913, Hardcover) People Weekly 07/13/2015 pg. 40 (EAN 9781620400913, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Solovitch, Sara Sara Solovitch is a lifelong journalist. She has been a medical writer at Stanford University and a reporter at the"Philadelphia Inquirer". Her articles have appeared in "Politico, "the "Washington Post", "Los Angeles Times", "Esquire", "Wired" and elsewhere. She lives in Santa Cruz, California. This is her first book. sarasolo.com