A daughter''s astonishing journey of loss, self-discovery, and eating fire - through life with the last traveling American sideshow and an adventurous, spirited mother.

Tessa Fontaine''s memoir, The Electric Woman, follows the author on a life-affirming odyssey. For three years, Fontaine lived in a constant state of emergency as her mother battled stroke after stroke. But hospitals, wheelchairs, and loss of language couldn''t hold back such a woman; she and her husband would see Italy together, come what may.

Thus Fontaine became free to follow her own piper, a literal giant inviting her to "come play" in the World of Wonders, America''s last traveling sideshow. Transformed into an escape artist, a snake charmer, and a high-voltage Electra, Fontaine witnessed the marvels of carnival life: intense camaraderie and heartbreak, the guilty thrill of hard-earned cash exchanged for a peek into the impossible, and, most marvelous of all, the stories carnival folks tell about themselves. Through these, Fontaine trained her body to ignore fear and learned how to keep her heart open in the face of loss.

A story for anyone who has ever imagined running away with the circus, wanted to be someone else, or wanted a loved one to live forever, The Electric Woman is ultimately about death-defying acts of all kinds, especially that ever constant: good old-fashioned unconditional love.

A daughter''s astonishing journey of loss, self-discovery, and eating fire - through life with the last traveling American sideshow and an adventurous, spirited mother.

Tessa Fontaine''s memoir, The Electric Woman, follows the author on a life-affirming odyssey. For three years, Fontaine lived in a constant state of emergency as her mother battled stroke after stroke. But hospitals, wheelchairs, and loss of language couldn''t hold back such a woman; she and her husband would see Italy together, come what may.

Thus Fontaine became free to follow her own piper, a literal giant inviting her to "come play" in the World of Wonders, America''s last traveling sideshow. Transformed into an escape artist, a snake charmer, and a high-voltage Electra, Fontaine witnessed the marvels of carnival life: intense camaraderie and heartbreak, the guilty thrill of hard-earned cash exchanged for a peek into the impossible, and, most marvelous of all, the stories carnival folks tell about themselves. Through these, Fontaine trained her body to ignore fear and learned how to keep her heart open in the face of loss.

A story for anyone who has ever imagined running away with the circus, wanted to be someone else, or wanted a loved one to live forever, The Electric Woman is ultimately about death-defying acts of all kinds, especially that ever constant: good old-fashioned unconditional love.