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

FINISHED THE BOOK IN A DAY AND 1/2!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just could not put this book down. I figured that it was a book mostly about John and his wife. BOY WAS I WRONG!!!! This is a love story...an honest one. One reviewer said she wrote in an earthy tone. While I was reading I couldn't figure out the style..but earthy is correct...open and well just great.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A Real Page Turner

Carole Radziwill accomplished something few have been able to. She got me to finish a book. I have always experienced trouble staying interested in a story and have rarely reached the last page of any book. However, I had no problem staying interested in What Remains, in fact I could not read it fast enough. The manner in which Carole writes is enchanting. No detail or feeling is spared. I smiled, grieved and loved along with her through every page. What Remains is a refreshing read, just brilliant.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Written with winning honesty

The little girl from the working class family is on her way to success, the kind she wants and has worked hard pursuing, when she lands a production assistant's job at ABC News. When Carole DiFalco finds herself working on a project for TV news magazine Primetime with Anthony Radziwill, nephew of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, things don't catch fire between them with instantaneous storybook passion. Their love affair begins several years afterward, and it's a gradual, almost casual progression that doesn't make it to the matrimonial altar until after the second of Anthony's many bouts with cancer. The first happened before they met, and he believed himself cured. The third interrupts their just-begun life together immediately after their honeymoon. Five years later, Anthony - a Polish prince by ancestry, as well as a Kennedy cousin - will be dead. The two people on whom he and Carole have relied most during his long illness will die before he does, though and that twist of fate will leave Carole alone in way she couldn't have imagined. That other couple are Anthony's beloved first cousin, John F. Kennedy, Jr. and John's wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, who has long since become Carole's closest and dearest friend. Carole Radziwill is a remarkable writer, because she kept me - the most squeamish of readers, who hates hearing about doctors, hospitals, and medical treatments - turning pages far into the night. Although her book has a slow start, once Anthony's illness takes center stage the tale becomes riveting. By the time she finishes telling it, readers have come to know four remarkable young people - Anthony, Carole, John, and Carolyn - very well, and to care about them very much. It's a heartbreaker as well as a page turner, and a true-life love story written with winning honesty. Whatever this author writes next, I want to read it!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Amazing book.

I couldnt put this down. So beautifully written. I knew how it ended but I wanted so badly for it to have a different one. The people lost were so deeply loved and it was a priviledge to get a glimpse in to their world. Heartbreaking and searing. I loved it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Totally worth reading

Amazing, touching, insightful and inspiring.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Fantastically written

I have read many "Kennedy" books and I must say I'm glad I downloaded this one. It was very well written, and I found myself really rooting for Anthony to live through his cancer even though I knew the ending of this story. I'd recommend this book to anyone.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A loving tribute

Carole possesses a strength full of love and devotion. I Read this book in 2 days due to it's pages full of an honest depiction of an unfortunate short-lived love story. A compassionate wife and a most dedicated friend; my wish for Carole is a life of peace.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This Book Is Amazing!

It is a true testimony of love and friendship, of death and dying, and ultimately, of life! I highly recommend it!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Heartbreaking

A beautifully written account of love and heartbreak. A must read for everyone, you will get lost in the story and not want it to end!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

One The Best Books I Have Read

I couldn't put it down. I thought it would be just another Kennedy book. I couldn't have been more wrong.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Sweet and tender story

A nice, heartfelt story of love and loss. The book was written in a very "down to earth" style and you couldn't help feeling compassion for all that Carole Radziwill endured.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Very well written book!

An excellent read! I enjoyed this story very much. As I read this book, I kept coming back to a few thoughts. First, this book only continued to confirm for me how lots of money does not make you happy nor does it spare you from any heartache or realities of life. Second, I don't think Carole wants us to feel sorry for her. I imagine this book was a sort of therapy for her. The ability to tell one's story in a way that speaks from the heart and allows you to feel their emotions is a story very well told. This is one of those very well told stories! This book is very much worth the time it takes to read along with the emotional investment you make into Anthony and Carole's life.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

I purchased this book on CD to listen to while I commute every day. It was a little hard to adjust to Carole Radziwell¿s voice, as it is not the normal clear and animated voice that you get accustomed to hearing when listening to books on cd. I do have to say that for her to be reading her own memoir, she lacked the emotion that could have been portrayed so easily for her, and I wish I would have read the book myself. As for the book itself, I loved it. It made me laugh at times, it made me cry several times. However, I did go in to this book thinking that it would be more about her, but it was more about how her husband¿s cancer, and the death of her best friends (and their sister) framed her life in the late 1990's. It¿s a tragic story of love, friendship, and heartbreak. In all, you have to be proud of Carole Radziwell for being a strong woman while dealing with so much throughout her marriage - beginning to end.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Dramatic Page Turner

I'm not sure that I can write an adequate opinion about this book. It is chock full of feelings as the result of Radziwill's life experiences, and it is sometimes overwhelming reading. Sure, it is about the Kennedy and Radziwill families, but it is also the story of Carol DiFalco. She does a great job of articulating her perspective. You'll not be able to put this book down until you get to the bottom of the last page.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

amazing story of strength and love

This book was very moving. I never thought a book could bring tears to my eyes, but this one did more than once. Her story is amazing, I cannot even begin to imagine the strength it took for her to get through these tragedies. I highly reccomend this book to everyone!

Very emotional read

Very well written, emotional book. Couldn't seem to find a place to put it down and actually felt changed after finishing it.

Couldn't put it down

I saw Mrs. Radziwill on Oprah and became intrigued about not only her story, but her personal journey. My mother sent me the book, and I read it cover to cover in one sitting. It was that compelling. I look forward to her first novel.

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