What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and the Power of Love

SD: This book has its good points and perhaps knowing the ending colored my view, but I cannot say I enjoyed it and I can't say I did not. I read it in two or three sittings, so it certainly moves. Holding my attention earns a few stars. Tears were shed. That counts,too. I still don't have a fleshed-out picture of Carole's husband and I want that. He remains two-dimensional to me (maybe the author wanted it this way). John and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy appear as we all imagine them. Carole's mother-in-law, the famous Lee Radziwill, persists as a mystery. I'm still uncertain regarding Ms. Radziwill as well. There are lots of literary references (the author was an undergrad lit major) and some name dropping. So, it's a toss up. I'm a tad disappointed because when I invest time and money in a biography or memoir, I expect to get to know the people involved.

United States on Nov 08, 2023

Andrea S: The condition of the book was as described by the seller. It arrived very quickly after my order was placed. Would buy from this seller in future.

United Kingdom on Oct 31, 2023

Janie B: I knew that Carole Radziwill was connected to the Kennedy's by marriage however I had no idea of the depth of her relationship with Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy.
I found her personal style of writing highly inclusive.
I admire her strength to overcome the grief and go onto life such a full life after the death of her best friend and husband in such a short space of time.

Australia on Oct 13, 2023

jus'Dave N.: Very good read. Somber, yet, it teaches one how to prepare, perhaps, for the worst parts of life if that is possible.

United States on Sep 19, 2023

Max: Carole Radziwill succeeds to visualize her story the best way possible. This memoir is very inspirational and Carole Radziwill Is. An. Icon.

Germany on Sep 06, 2022

J. Maslova: Having watched Carole in RHoNY and finding her one of the most calming of the cast. On hearing of her close links to the Kennedy/ Radziwill families, I was keen to read this book to discover more and understand how being part of such a high profile dynasty felt and still feels years on.

United Kingdom on Mar 20, 2022

Jan M: This book touched me deeply. My sister died from metastatic breast cancer-- Radziwill's journey with her husband's cancer was a place I know too well--the denial that it was even happening, the ups and downs with bad news always coming, and the secret wishing for it to just end. Radziwill is my favourite housewife on Housewives of NYC--because she is so authentic and not money-mad like most of them. I knew she was a widow and a princess, but I never knew she lost her best friend, Carolyn, and her husband's favourite cousin, JFK Jr, in that fated plane crash so close to the death of Radziwill's husband. I felt that Anthony had the best possible person by his side during his illness--how Carole carried all the worries--and they were able to share some wonderful times like the kayak/whalewatching trip in the midst of metastatic cancer. Somehow I see Anthony and John cracking wise in heaven. And Anthony grinning happily that Carole recently ran the NYC marathon as running was his passion. This book is beautifully written--a memoir that takes you many places including Cambodia with Carole's producing job at ABC. And back in time to Kingston, a creekside summer place with Carole's...

Canada on Jun 23, 2018

The Blonde Avenger: I overlooked this book originally because I'm definitely not a "real housewives" fan. The few times I have watched the show, I've wanted the 60 minutes back so I can do something constructive with my life. I was more interested from the Carolyn Bessette Kennedy angle. Plus I am Carole Radziwill's age and I grew up with a mother who idolized Jackie Kennedy.

I hardly ever write reviews but this book was so moving that I felt compelled to do so. Anyone who has lost someone suddenly or fought cancer will appreciate this book. But there's so much more to this book. It's a story of love and loss, working hard and fighting hard.

This is why I like this book:

1. It's a Cinderella story, and who doesn't love Cinderella stories? The bride was not unattractive, but by her own admission, she was not model material. As with most Cinderellas, she had no pedigree and her family was solidly middle-class. But unlike most formulaic Cinderella stories, it appears there was no Grand Recognition when they met for the first time while they worked on a project together for ABC. Carole even dubbed them most likely to not do anything together in the future and noted their many...

United States on Apr 11, 2014

Anna Maria: I found this book worth reading. It is a book that, for me, got better the more I read it. I did not enjoy the first part of the book. I felt like it was disjointed and jumped around too much, and I also found some of her stories from her childhood to be oddly disturbing and not in the way I think she meant them to be. She is a cynical person, which is understandable with all she's been through, but she was very cynical at an early age. When she was young, she viewed others whom she saw affected by death with disdain, later labeling them all as "tragedy whores", "voyeurs" and "emotional rubberneckers." She never views their emotion as being genuine and writes she "hated them" and still does. She revealed more intensity in her emotion about those girls mourning a death in seventh grade than she does about her husband. Throughout the book I have a feeling that she doesn't connect with people, and that may explain why she shows disdain for people who do. Tragic events affect people differently, but as a 12-year-old she seems to have believed that people who weren't as detached from feeling as she was were just milking tragedy for their own benefit. That is way too cynical for me. It...

United States on Nov 13, 2011