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Story highlights. 1  Sally Ride earned four degrees from Stanford University; she was an author. 2  President Barack Obama hails Ride as a national hero. 3  The former astronaut dies after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer; she was 61. 4  NASA: Ride broke barriers ... and literally changed the face of America's space program.
The Secret Life Of Sally Ride, The First American Woman In Space. When Sally Ride died in 2012, her obituary noted a new fact that was widely picked up: that she was survived by her partner, Tam O'Shaughnessy. The first American woman in space suddenly became a more complicated figure. Now Lynn Sherr, a journalist and friend of Ride, has created a brilliant and eye-opening biography.