3.55 out of 4 stars.
Not just a housewife!
When Bravo’s Real Housewives of New York City introduced Carole Radziwill as the newest castmate I immediately recognized the last name due to my Kennedy fascination.
Carole was married to Anthony Radziwill. Anthony’s mother was Lee Bouvier Radziwill, Jackie Kennedy Onassis’ sister. This makes John Kennedy Jr. and Caroline Kennedy her cousins through marriage. Crazy! Of course this is not to overshadow that Anthony’s father was Polish Prince Stanislaw Radziwill. Following along? It is tough!
Carole’s memoir is about her rough and tumble background mixing with the highest social elite. Her life changed when she met Anthony at ABC where they were both Producers. The romance started off as a friendship because they never seemed to be in the same location at the same time. It slowly turned into love and marriage arrived. Unfortunately so did a lump on Anthony’s side. Carole’s memoir chronicles the next five years of being a wife alongside this disease and watching the man she loves fall apart. She is able to tell a dark portion of her life with wit and razor-sharp detail in a way that makes it ok to laugh along with her sometimes. An example of this is when Anthony made her go white river rafting out west and it rained the entire trip. Although Carole felt like she had to keep Anthony entertained since he was sick she drew the line when her tent collapsed and she was soaked with water. She wanted the readers to remember that although she knew every ounce of detail about cancer she was still a wife that could get fed up with her husband.
Equally mentioned in the book is not only her love for Anthony but also her deep friendship with Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, John Kennedy Jr’s wife. Carolyn was there by Carole’s side throughout all the tough times of Anthony’s sickness. She was the ying to her yang. Carole is private and calm while Carolyn is bubbly and open. Radziwill paints a picture of Carolyn being the only one to have the power to bring her out of her dark stages of gloom during all of this. Carolyn was fashionable, personable, and kind.
As the memoir is coming toward the end Carole starts to discuss the details of the night that JFK Jr’s plane goes down. This accident kills John, Carolyn, and Carolyn’s sister Lauren. It is hard to imagine that this accident happened only four weeks before Anthony passed away leaving Carole to pick up the pieces of the entire life that she had built.
Caroline Radziwill may now be surrounded by housewives who have issues like smudged lipstick and cat fights but she comes from a background filled with class, sophistication, and genuine love. It is worth it to pick up the book to see her in the light that she deserves and not just her newly adapted fame.
