The instant New York Times and USA Today bestseller The untold story of how one woman’s life was changed forever in a matter of seconds by a horrific trauma.Barbara Leaming’s extraordinary and deeply sensitive biography is the first book to document Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ brutal, lonely and valiant thirty-one year struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that followed JFK’s … struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that followed JFK’s assassination.
Here is the woman as she has never been seen before. In heartrending detail, we witness a struggle that unfolded at times before our own eyes, but which we failed to understand.
Leaming’s biography also makes clear the pattern of Jackie’s life as a whole. We see how a spirited young woman’s rejection of a predictable life led her to John F. Kennedy and the White House, how she sought to reconcile the conflicts of her marriage and the role she was to play, and how the trauma of her husband’s murder which left her soaked in his blood and brains led her to seek a very different kind of life from the one she’d previously sought.
A life story that has been scrutinized countless times, seen here for the first time as the serious and important story that it is. A story for our times at a moment when we as a nation need more than ever to understand the impact of trauma.
more
I bought this book at the suggestion of a grief group because I had recently lost my husband. I wanted to learn more about the grief process that Jacqueline went through after the loss of JFK and it really hit home for me, almost too close to home. The raw emotions that she felt are certainly on display in this book. I found her story very interesting especially considering she is such a known figure. I read this book for a specific purpose but found it to be overall interesting.
I was always caught up with the Kennedy’s from the beginning. Edward came to my college when Jack was running for President and it made a huge impression on me to see a family sticking together. Of course he had his own set of problems later but Jacqueline led the country in style and was a role model to so many.
It really focused on JFK’s philandering, her roll during his assassination, and the ensuing struggle with probable PTSD.
Did. Not like this book! Too slow!
So much I was not aware of
I like to read any book about Jacqueline Kennedy. This was especially good as it delved into her personal life and shared more about what happened in Dallas more than any book I’ve read. As a country, I don’t think many people realized the deep trauma our 34-year-old First Lady experienced through all of that nightmare. Loved the book!
If you like readin about the Kennedys this is for you.
A different perspective on Jackie Kennedy and PTSD.
I was very disappointed in our ex-President Kennedy’s personal life. It was hinted at in the news, but only those close to him knew of his obsession with women, outside of his marriage. Jackie showed great dignity and elegance during all his affairs. She suffered terribly when he was shot and lived with depression for many years. She showed great strength in re-starting her life as an editor for a publishing company as a new career. I finished the book feeling that she had a hard life and was a very charming lady who didn’t deserve the tragedies she had to endure.
So much has been written about Jacquline Kennedy Onassis that it is difficult to distinguish true from fantastic. This author has a different take on her life; presumption of PTSD after the killing of the president. It sounds likely, given the circumstances but I found myself becoming a bit impatient by the end of the book of her reactions to circumstances and utter control she tried to exert on same. Seems she was consumed with fear, unable to overcome and unwilling. Expecting other people to save her.
Enjoyed seeing “the rest of the story” a great deal. However, wish the author had learned to write shorter sentences.
The Kennedy’s are always an interesting subject. This was handled well and compassionately. Well written and researched.
Most individuals don’t realize the trauma that people go through just in a family situation. We understand soldiers with post traumatic stress syndrome but this made me realize what a mother emotionally goes through when a family member is shot and you are literally holding his head to keep his brains from falling out of his skull. Ican’t figure with all the money they had why she waited so long to get counselling. Her kids suffered their own trauma growing up with a mother that paranoid.
An honest view of what Jacqueline Kennedy was really like!!!!
Interesting, well-researched book on the life of Jacqueline and her continual struggle with PTSD and eventually working through it by taking the advice of a friend and going back to work full time as an editor. Portrays her as a very detailed perfectionist who had a lot more bad events happen in her life than I had thought about. The author gives the everyday person a glimpse into the lives of the privileged.