Don't Think, Dear
On Loving and Leaving Ballet
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Narrated by:
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Alice Robb
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By:
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Alice Robb
About this listen
An incisive exploration of ballet’s role in the modern world, told through the experience of the author and her classmates at the most elite ballet school in the country: the School of American Ballet.
Growing up, Alice Robb dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer. But by age fifteen, she had to face the reality that she would never meet the impossibly high standards of the hyper-competitive ballet world. After she quit, she tried to avoid ballet—only to realize, years later, that she was still haunted by the lessons she had absorbed in the mirror-lined studios of Lincoln Center, and that they had served her well in the wider world. The traits ballet takes to an extreme—stoicism, silence, submission—are valued in girls and women everywhere.
Profound, nuanced, and passionately researched, Don’t Think, Dear is Robb’s excavation of her adolescent years as a dancer and an exploration of how those days informed her life for years to come.
As she grapples with the pressure she faced as a student at the School of American Ballet, she investigates the fates of her former classmates as well. From sweet and innocent Emily, whose body was deemed thin enough only when she was too ill to eat, to precocious and talented Meiying, who was thrilled to be cast as the young star of the Nutcracker but dismayed to see Asians stereotyped onstage, and Lily, who won the carrot they had all been chasing—an apprenticeship with the New York City Ballet—only to spend her first season dancing eight shows a week on a broken foot.
Theirs are stories of heartbreak and resilience, of reinvention and regret. Along the way, Robb weaves in the myths of famous ballet personalities past and present, from the groundbreaking Misty Copeland, who rose from poverty to become an icon of American ballet, to the blind diva Alicia Alonso, who used the heat of the spotlights and the vibrations of the music to navigate space onstage. By examining the psyche of a dancer, Don’t Think, Dear grapples with the contradictions and challenges of being a woman today.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2023 Alice Robb (P)2023 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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Actress, director, entertainer Joely Fisher invites listeners backstage into the intimate world of her career and family with this hilarious, irreverent, down-to-earth memoir filled with incredible, candid stories about her life, her famous parents, and how the loss of her unlikely hero, sister Carrie Fisher, ignited the writer in her.
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Not what I thought it would be but I loved it.
- By Kristopher's Korner on 01-15-18
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The Girls
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- By: Abigail Pesta
- Narrated by: Elisabeth Rodgers
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
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The Girls is a profound exploration of trust, ambition, betrayal, and self-discovery. Award-winning journalist Abigail Pesta unveils this deeply reported narrative at a time when the nation is wrestling with the implications of the MeToo movement. How do the women who grew up with Nassar reconcile the monster in the news with the man they once trusted? In The Girls, we learn that their answers to that wrenching question are as rich, insightful, and varied as the human experience itself.
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Don’t waste a credit
- By Timothy McCarthy on 11-12-19
By: Abigail Pesta
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My Body
- By: Emily Ratajkowski
- Narrated by: Emily Ratajkowski
- Length: 5 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Emily Ratajkowski is an acclaimed model and actress, an engaged political progressive, a formidable entrepreneur, a global social media phenomenon, and now, a writer. Rocketing to world fame at age 21, Ratajkowski sparked both praise and furor with the provocative display of her body as an unapologetic statement of feminist empowerment. The subsequent evolution in her thinking about our culture’s commodification of women is the subject of this book.
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so vain..
- By Emily Valdez on 01-10-22
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Legs Are the Last to Go
- By: Diahann Carroll
- Narrated by: Diahann Carroll
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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With wisdom that only aging gracefully can bestow, Diahann Carroll talks frankly about her four marriages as well as her other relationships, including her courtship with Sidney Poitier; racial politics in show business; and the personal cost, particularly to her family, of being a pioneer.
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Magnificent
- By Rhonda G. on 04-02-21
By: Diahann Carroll
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The Unspeakable
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- By: Meghan Daum
- Narrated by: Meghan Daum
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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It's a report tempered by hard times. In "Matricide", Daum unflinchingly describes a parent's death and the uncomfortable emotions it provokes; and in "Diary of a Coma" she relates her own journey to the twilight of the mind. But Daum also operates in a comic register. With perfect precision, she reveals the absurdities of the marriage-industrial complex, of the New Age dating market, and of the peculiar habits of the young and digital.
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Complaining about her dead mom.
- By Erik Hermansen on 11-23-14
By: Meghan Daum
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Letters to a Young Artist
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From "the most exciting individual in American theater" ( Newsweek), here is Anna Deavere Smith's brass-tacks advice to aspiring artists of all stripes. In the manner of Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet, Deavere Smith mentors her young artist over a period of five years, sharing her hard-won wisdom about the challenges and rewards of the artistic life.
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Great advice for artists of any age.
- By S. Barker on 10-30-17
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Inside Out
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- By: Demi Moore
- Narrated by: Demi Moore
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For decades, Demi Moore has been synonymous with celebrity. From iconic film roles to high-profile relationships, Moore has never been far from the spotlight - or the headlines. Even as Demi was becoming the highest paid actress in Hollywood, however, she was always outrunning her past. Throughout her rise to fame and during some of the most pivotal moments of her life, Demi battled addiction, body image issues, and childhood trauma that would follow her for years - all while juggling a skyrocketing career and at times negative public perception.
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I loved this Memoir
- By mrsbee19 on 09-25-19
By: Demi Moore
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Going Om
- Real Life Stories On and Off the Yoga Mat
- By: Melissa Carroll - editor
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With candid, witty, and compelling experiences of yoga from renowned memoirists, including Cheryl Strayed (author of the number one New York Times best-seller Wild), Claire Dederer (author of national best-seller Poser: My Life in 23 Yoga Poses), Dinty W. Moore (author of The Accidental Buddhist), Neal Pollack (author of Stretch: The Making of a Yoga Dude) and many others, Going Om shares a range of observations about this popular practice.
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a couple of good stories, but overall just eh
- By Melissa on 05-31-16
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Get Happy
- The Life of Judy Garland
- By: Gerald Clarke
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
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She lived at full throttle on stage, screen, and in real life, with highs that made history and lows that finally brought down the curtain at age 47. Judy Garland died over 30 years ago, but no biography has so completely captured her spirit - and demons - until now. From her tumultuous early years as a child performer to her tragic last days, Gerald Clarke reveals the authentic Judy in a biography rich in new detail and unprecedented revelations.
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A good book, but...
- By Donna Deal on 08-27-21
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Dying of Politeness
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From two-time Academy Award winner and screen icon Geena Davis, the surprising tale of her “journey to badassery”—from her epically polite childhood to roles that loaned her the strength to become a powerhouse in Hollywood.
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so perfect
- By Kimber on 10-16-22
By: Geena Davis
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The Mother of Black Hollywood
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- Narrated by: Jenifer Lewis
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
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Jenifer Lewis keeps it real in this provocative and touching memoir by a Midwestern girl with a dream whose journey from poverty to Hollywood will move, shock, and inspire listeners. Told in the audacious voice her fans adore, Jenifer describes a road to fame made treacherous by dysfunction and undiagnosed mental illness, including a sex addiction. Yet, supported by loving friends and strengthened by "inner soldiers", Jenifer never stopped entertaining and creating.
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I could barely finish it.
- By Manning Fam on 06-17-18
By: Jenifer Lewis
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A New Model
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- Narrated by: Ashley Graham, Almarie Guerra
- Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins
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One of the most outspoken voices gracing the cover of magazines today encourages women to be their most confident selves, recognize their personal beauty, and reach for their highest dreams in this wise, warm, and inspiring memoir.
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Not That Interesting
- By Erika K Horton on 09-21-17
By: Ashley Graham, and others
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What listeners say about Don't Think, Dear
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Carmen N. Scroggin
- 06-13-24
Not what I expected
From the title, I was expecting more of a memoir. This book is largely a review of other works about historical figures from ballet. It is extremely one sided and, while it has important information regarding the unhealthy environment in ballet around body image, health, and control it provides little balance. I think this book should have been read by a professional. The author struggles through the Russian names she mentions which is off putting.
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- Helen Olaussen
- 04-19-23
A glimpse into ballet culture
I learnt about this book from the podcast 'Articles of Interest" when they covered ballet shoes, which piqued my interest to do a deeper dive on the topic. This book really hit the spot for me, weaving together history, anecdotes and research in a beautiful choreography. I love learning the history of arts and their craft, and I am fascinated by cult-like environments and how people descend into & heal from them - and how it intersects with identity and gender.
I personally really enjoyed listening to Robb's voice. She was interviewed on the aforementioned podcast, and i was excited to find that she recorded her own book. I sometimes struggled when perspectives changed between the cast of people introduced in this book and i had to rewind to catch the names, but otherwise i got everything i wanted from this book.
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- Anonymous User
- 10-27-23
Compelling!!
I loved this book, I know nothing about ballet and still loved. A fascinating insider’s look. The author should drop the vocal fry, it is so awful and unnecessary, a bad habit
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- Jamie
- 03-01-23
Beautiful
This was a very thoughtful and elegant book. I think I learned as much from the writing style itself as I did from the content—no doubt a gracefulness that stands as an homage to the art the author never entirely left.
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- gianna
- 07-19-23
Intense
Revealing and tragic in every way. Well written and honest. I am an adult wannabe ballerina. I am enchanted by dance and now just di the best I can for my own enrichment but on a very small scale I can relate to much of the theme of this book. Excellent.
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- Kim
- 05-26-23
Disappointing
a couple of the chapters were good, but overall, the story was boring. m
Maybe if you are/we're in ballet, you'd appreciate more.
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- SGMaurer
- 03-08-23
Sad to leave this review
I really wanted to like this book but - with 6 hours left - i am unable to continue. At best, it should have been read by a professional reader. The author’s voice is not only gravel-like, but it also comes across in a monotone; more specifically, it is difficult to tell when Ms. Robb is narrating her own experiences vs when she is reading about someone else and quoting from her multiple sources. Maybe the story would be better if I were reading it instead of listening, but thus far I have not found it to be an exploration/memoir of her own experience as I had expected. I respect the research that Ms. Robb obviously conducted and the time she must have spent, but I cannot praise the story or its telling as I wanted to do. Very sorry.
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- melissa f goodwin
- 03-03-23
That vocal fry
I don’t believe I can continue listening to this audiobook. The narrators vocal fry completely ruins this book.
Don’t waste your money
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2 people found this helpful