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Selby McPhee was a staff writer and editor at schools, universities, and other educational institutions including Tufts University and the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), where she was marketing vice president. In addition to her administrative work, she was the editor of numerous institutional newsletters, magazines, and e-publications, and she served as chapter author of an NAIS book on school marketing. She continues to write e-newsletters for nonprofit institutions on a freelance basis.
As a freelance writer, McPhee has published articles in a variety of magazines and newspapers, including Vermont Life, HighFidelity/Musical America, Independent School, Burlington (VT) Free Press, and IB World (the International Baccalaureate magazine). While living in Vermont from 1970 to 1980, McPhee was innkeeper at a small ski lodge, manager of an attached condominium development, and producing director at the Stowe (VT) Playhouse.
Love Crazy, McPhee’s first book, began to germinate in 1984, when she found a box of letters, marked with the admonition “to be destroyed unopened,” in a closet at her parents’ house.
McPhee, a graduate of Vassar College, grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She lives with her husband in Maryland.
Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite
In Love Crazy, author Selby Fleming McPhee recalls the first time she read her father’s letter. She was 41 years old then. The letter evokes many emotions towards her father and her mother, who was angered by her father's decision to join the army during World War Two. She found her father’s first letter to her in 1984, in a box in an upstairs closet of her parents’ house, just as she was moving them into a retirement community. On the top of the box was written, “PERSONAL LETTERS OF MR. AND MRS. J.J. FLEMING, JR. – TO BE DESTROYED UNOPENED”. Those letters introduced a couple she never knew, infatuated with each other, full of life and hopeful.
Selby Fleming McPhee’s prose is beautiful and adequately nostalgic in telling the story about her parents. She effortlessly puts her emotion into words, making every page a touching read. There’s no doubt that she inherited this gift from her father, and she confirms this herself, “In this retelling I draw on his gift to set their story in context.” She flawlessly brings readers together in this journey back in time, getting to know her parents again.
As I keep reading, a daughter’s anger towards her mother and sympathy for her father is evident. Readers would understand why and perhaps most people would be able to connect as they might experience the same thing. In the end, she shares her acceptance for the two people who mean so much to her. A beautiful and moving memoir.
