Stephanie Selby, at 56
February 16, 2022 7:24 AM Subscribe
Stephanie Selby of Cody, Wyoming, died on February 3. In her childhood, she starred in Balanchine's Nutcracker in New York City and featured in the 1976 book A Very Young Dancer, one of a series of photo books for child readers (including A Very Young Gymnast and A Very Young Rider). Fame and fan mail followed, as the book inspired thousands of other children, but when Selby was thirteen, her ballet career came to an end. Afterwards, she struggled with depression and drifted between jobs, but eventually found herself working with animals and settling in the countryside in the West, where a reporter found her again in 2011 (previously).
(cw: suicide)
(cw: suicide)
If you remove the early fame, her life looks like that of millions of people living in this country right now. Moving from job to job, the community of the church, the loneliness of modern life, the giving nature while being in pain. May she be at rest.
posted by gwint at 7:51 AM on February 16, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by gwint at 7:51 AM on February 16, 2022 [4 favorites]
"She had trouble living life on life's terms." I hear that.
posted by praemunire at 8:25 AM on February 16, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 8:25 AM on February 16, 2022 [7 favorites]
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posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:08 AM on February 16, 2022
posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:08 AM on February 16, 2022
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Very sad to read this. I didn't grow up with this book myself, but my wife did, and when my daughter started dancing as a young girl, we would read A Very Young Dancer a lot. It was clear even in the book that the pressure of that life was intense, even before adding on so much fame and such a bright spotlight.
posted by dellsolace at 9:20 AM on February 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
Very sad to read this. I didn't grow up with this book myself, but my wife did, and when my daughter started dancing as a young girl, we would read A Very Young Dancer a lot. It was clear even in the book that the pressure of that life was intense, even before adding on so much fame and such a bright spotlight.
posted by dellsolace at 9:20 AM on February 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
Author of the "Very Young" series is Jill Krementz - who probably deserves an FPP of her own!
posted by borborygmi at 10:15 AM on February 16, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by borborygmi at 10:15 AM on February 16, 2022 [5 favorites]
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This may be more suited to MeTa but reading the 2011 post back, it’s kinda incredible how far we have come in how we think about mental illness. That we are far more likely to address it as a disease than a situational moral failing these days makes me happy.
posted by turbowombat at 11:55 AM on February 16, 2022 [5 favorites]
This may be more suited to MeTa but reading the 2011 post back, it’s kinda incredible how far we have come in how we think about mental illness. That we are far more likely to address it as a disease than a situational moral failing these days makes me happy.
posted by turbowombat at 11:55 AM on February 16, 2022 [5 favorites]
"She had trouble living life on life's terms." I hear that.
Don't we all.
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:43 PM on February 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
Don't we all.
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:43 PM on February 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
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Oh, how I remember this book. I pored over its pages, even though I wasn't a dancer. Very sad news.
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:05 PM on February 16, 2022
Oh, how I remember this book. I pored over its pages, even though I wasn't a dancer. Very sad news.
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:05 PM on February 16, 2022
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posted by liminal_shadows at 7:46 AM on February 17, 2022
posted by liminal_shadows at 7:46 AM on February 17, 2022
I loved this book so much. It was one of my favorites. Heartbreaking.
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posted by thivaia at 9:20 AM on February 17, 2022
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posted by thivaia at 9:20 AM on February 17, 2022
This is so sad. I still have my copy of that book.
posted by exceptinsects at 7:20 AM on February 22, 2022
posted by exceptinsects at 7:20 AM on February 22, 2022
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posted by Countess Elena at 7:27 AM on February 16, 2022 [1 favorite]