The Art of Holding on and Letting Go
by Kristin Bartley Lenz
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Description
Author(s)
Kristin Bartley Lenz
Related Titles
| Publisher | Gakken |
| Publication | Feb 13, 2017 |
| Format | Paperback/Softback |
| ISBN | B06WD1M4XQ |
| Pages | 0 |
| Age | 13 - 17 |
| Price |
The Art of Holding on and Letting Go
"When every piece falls into place, it's like a dance, a delicate but powerful balancing act. The art of holding on and letting go at the same time."
Competitive climber Cara Jenkins feels most at home high off the ground, clinging to a rock wall by her fingertips. She's enjoyed a roaming life with her mountaineering parents, making the natural world her jungle gym, the writings of Annie Dillard and Henry David Thoreau her textbooks. But when tragedy strikes on an Ecuadorian mountaintop, Cara's nomadic lifestyle comes to an abrupt halt.
Starting over at her grandparents' home in suburban Detroit, Cara embarks on a year of discovery, uncovering unknown strengths, friendships, and first love. Cara's journey illustrates the transformative power of nature, love and loss, and discovering that home can be far from where you started.
Author
Kristin Bartley Lenz
Kristin Bartley Lenz is a writer and licensed clinical social worker who has lived in Michigan, Georgia, and California. Her rock climbing adventures inspired her debut young adult novel, The Art of Holding On and Letting Go, which was a Junior Library Guild Selection and a Great Lakes Great Books Award honor title and was reissued as a 10th Anniversary edition in 2026. Another YA novel, The Door Swings Open, publishes in 2027. Her writing has been published in The New York Times, an array of literary journals, and two anthologies (Rhyme & Rhythm: Poems for Student Athletes and Just YA: Short Poems, Essays, & Fiction for Grades 7-12). She also writes freelance for Detroit area non-profits, teaches creative writing for teens and adults, and escapes to the woods and lakes in northern Michigan whenever she can.