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JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography
The first oral biography of John F. Kennedy Jr. is an extraordinarily intimate, comprehensive look at the real man behind the myth. Sharing never-before-told stories and insights, his closest friends, confidantes, lovers, classmates, teachers, and colleagues paint a vivid portrait of one of the most beloved figures of the 20th century, revealing how the boy who saluted became the man America came to know and love who still captures public imagination twenty-five years after his tragic death.
Born into the spotlight, John F. Kennedy Jr. lived a short but remarkable life filled with expectation, ambition, family pressures, love, and tragedy. JFK Jr. dives deep into his complicated psyche and explores the what-ifs, illuminating both the cultural and political moment he inhabited and the way this son of a president, so full of promise and possibility, embodied America’s most cherished hopes.
Born into the spotlight, John F. Kennedy Jr. lived a short but remarkable life filled with expectation, ambition, family pressures, love, and tragedy. JFK Jr. dives deep into his complicated psyche and explores the what-ifs, illuminating both the cultural and political moment he inhabited and the way this son of a president, so full of promise and possibility, embodied America’s most cherished hopes.
14 pages, Audible Audio
Published July 16, 2024
355 people are currently reading
1804 people want to read
About the author
RoseMarie Terenzio
3 books53 followersRoseMarie Terenzio is the author of the New York Times best selling book "Fairy Tale Interrupted: A Memoir of Life, Love and Loss." She has worked in the fields of entertainment, politics, fashion and publishing in a public relations and marketing capacity for over a decade.
Ms. Terenzio worked with John F. Kennedy, Jr. from 1994 until his death in 1999. She was Kennedy’s executive assistant and oversaw his press and philanthropic causes. Additionally, she oversaw the marketing and publicity departments of George magazine. After Kennedy’s death in 1999, she worked with Caroline Kennedy on resolving John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s estate until 2000.
In 2000, Ms. Terenzio was hired by Vice President Al Gore’s presidential campaign to work on celebrity outreach. After that, she booked talent for and co-produced the New York Magazine Awards which aired on WNBC-TV. Ms. Terenzio then went to work with PR Consulting to oversee events for Narciso Rodriguez, Hermes and Viktor & Rolf.
She expanded her public relations skills into talent management, booking actors on shows such as Sex and the City and Law & Order and various Broadway and off-Broadway shows.
In 2003, Terenzio produced the off-Broadway play, “Touch” starring Tom Everett Scott with the Women’s Project and Productions which received an extremely favorable review in The New York Times.
Ms. Terenzio founded RMT PR Management, a public relations and talent management firm in New York City in 2004. The firm’s clients include Nobu restaurants, Gemini 14 hair salon, Jim McLean Golf Schools, Me & Ro jewelry, James Carville and Paul Begala, relationship expert, Steven Santagati, several fiction and non-fiction books and the Hope & Heroes Children’s Cancer Fund at Columbia University Medical Center, among others.
RoseMarie Terenzio serves on the board of Reaching Up, a non-profit organization founded by John F. Kennedy, Jr. in 1998 and as an advisory board member at Women’s Project and Productions.
Ms. Terenzio’s interests include politics, media and fashion. She loves cooking and the beach and she’s a great mimic.
Ms. Terenzio worked with John F. Kennedy, Jr. from 1994 until his death in 1999. She was Kennedy’s executive assistant and oversaw his press and philanthropic causes. Additionally, she oversaw the marketing and publicity departments of George magazine. After Kennedy’s death in 1999, she worked with Caroline Kennedy on resolving John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s estate until 2000.
In 2000, Ms. Terenzio was hired by Vice President Al Gore’s presidential campaign to work on celebrity outreach. After that, she booked talent for and co-produced the New York Magazine Awards which aired on WNBC-TV. Ms. Terenzio then went to work with PR Consulting to oversee events for Narciso Rodriguez, Hermes and Viktor & Rolf.
She expanded her public relations skills into talent management, booking actors on shows such as Sex and the City and Law & Order and various Broadway and off-Broadway shows.
In 2003, Terenzio produced the off-Broadway play, “Touch” starring Tom Everett Scott with the Women’s Project and Productions which received an extremely favorable review in The New York Times.
Ms. Terenzio founded RMT PR Management, a public relations and talent management firm in New York City in 2004. The firm’s clients include Nobu restaurants, Gemini 14 hair salon, Jim McLean Golf Schools, Me & Ro jewelry, James Carville and Paul Begala, relationship expert, Steven Santagati, several fiction and non-fiction books and the Hope & Heroes Children’s Cancer Fund at Columbia University Medical Center, among others.
RoseMarie Terenzio serves on the board of Reaching Up, a non-profit organization founded by John F. Kennedy, Jr. in 1998 and as an advisory board member at Women’s Project and Productions.
Ms. Terenzio’s interests include politics, media and fashion. She loves cooking and the beach and she’s a great mimic.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 240 reviews
February 24, 2025
This biography of JFK Jr was a great read. I love the format of the book. Acquaintances, friends, family members tell very personal stories relating to John & later his wife Carolyn. Each chapter of the book included many short paragraphs describing family & friends’ interactions with JFK Jr. Unlike most biographies where authors base their information on articles and other researches, this biography is base almost entirely on first hand accounts. The author & narrator of this oral biography is John’s close friend & former executive assistant. I learned a lot of intimate details about JFK Jr that I didn’t know before… Real lovely book.
July 26, 2024
Not sure it’s a solid 4…
Because no matter how flat a pancake, there are 2 sides and generally the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Thank you Dr Phil.
And sadly we are lacking their side. They are not here to defend themselves, or defend their truths.
However there is new information given in the book that dispels many of the rumors surrounding them. So I figured a close 4 was warranted.
The format of the book was good. I liked how the authors were was able to arrange the stories in order so a timeline evolved. Even though there are multiple contributors the overall story was easy to follow and not confusing.
However, this was the book where I finally and firmly decided that Sasha Chermayeff is NOT a good friend. She is so jealous of Carolyn I’m surprised she can pull off even half of the things she says. She’s so totally in love with John, unless it’s her old friend Jenny,she doesn’t want anyone to have him, teeheehee. And yes, she’s says teeheehee. (Maybe that’s in another book, or documentary, but I promise she says it!!) He dated Jenny in high school. And never went back to her. Like ever. And Sasha, you also made out with him in high school. Where was that little tidbit of truth in the I don’t find John attractive information you’ve been spouting? Except he ended that and you said you were okay being just friends. But were you?
Ummm, not really I think.
Oh, and Sasha, if you laid down on the floor and intertwined your hand with my husband’s, I would’ve given my husband a look as well. (And probably would’ve kicked you. And then kicked you out.) And that look would not have said what you finally concluded it said!!! Maybe Carolyn and John had previously had this discussion regarding you and your behavior Sasha. And Carolyn was saying see John, see! She’s totally in love with you!! Sasha is one of the few, who STAYS in John’s inner circle, that didn’t get off to a great start with Carolyn. To me, that says something. And it’s not a good something either. Especially with everything Sasha has said about Carolyn since she died. With friends like Sasha, who needs enemies?!
And this was the book where I finally decided there’s something fishy regarding Julie Baker. Especially where you can’t find where the rumors regarding her originated. Either you hear the same thing over and over and over without much delineation in what’s said so you can bet it’s pretty much right or you can find a name attached to what’s said. In her case, I can’t find either and the information regarding her and that week are in constant flux. But I do find it interesting that she hasn’t really come forward with any real information regarding her relationship with John. I’m not sure if what she says in the book counts. It sounds to me like she’s got some negative backlash and is trying to backpedal. Except for what is rumored regarding that last week, and what Rose Marie says in this book and in her book, Fairytale Interrupted, that he went to lunch with her once a month and she called him and he would take the calls, there’s really nothing.
His only former girlfriend that has said anything is Christina Haag. Her book, Come to the Edge, is quite good and not defamatory to John by any means I thought. So other than Christina, none of his other girlfriends have come forward. Like ever. And boy were there a lot. Which leaves me wondering, and not in a good way people.
However, I just can’t see him putting his marriage in danger.
I absolutely, 100%, don’t believe anything said by “a close friend”.
Who is this “friend”?
And if you can’t stand behind what you’ve said by attaching your name with what you’ve said, then chances are you probably shouldn’t be saying it.
And unfortunately this book has some information from some of those “friends”.
But there are nuggets of information shared in this book by individuals who have authored a book about John or who have been interviewed countless times, that they are just now sharing. I’m talking to you Robert Littel and Sasha Chermayeff. Because what Sasha says disturbed me so much, I began reading and researching and found out that about the time Sasha started talking, her husband had had a major stroke and she desperately needed money. She even started selling her personal photographs of John and Carolyn. Along with personal memorabilia.
And the bombshell Robbie drops? Totally negates what I previously thought was a beautiful biography of a best friend. Robbie, you absolutely should’ve included in your book the fact that John quit talking to you about Carolyn 6 months before they died. Apparently you kept nagging him about fidelity and how you just have to pick one and stick with it.
That’s kind of pertinent information there, “friend”. Especially since you’ve been SAYING in interviews they were happy. But in your book you WRITE you and Sasha think your families were invited to John and Carolyn’s for the Memorial Day and July 4th weekends because that way he and Carolyn didn’t have to be alone…
if you guys think this and love the guy so much- why do you go when invited??? Why didn’t you and Sasha decide, you know what, they need the time alone, if invited let’s say no, let’s tell him, you and Carolyn have a lot going on, you two take this time and be alone, enjoy each other and be together.
The guy is supposedly your BEST friend in like the whole world and you supposedly adore his wife, don’t you want them to be happy??!!
Sounds like to me, you want YOURSELVES to be happy and who cares about them.
The bombshell Brian Steele drops makes me wonder about his motives…. Do you know how many times that guy has been interviewed? He’s gotten a LOT of mileage out of the fact that he shared an office with JFK Jr while they worked at the New York DA’s office. The little encounter he talks about in the book, well I want to know if it happened before or after one of best pictures of John and Carolyn was taken? And why you just NOW sharing Brian?!!
It’s really not cool dude.
For the past 25 years these people have been firmly on John and Carolyn’s side.
Makes me wonder if Brian and Robbie finally started drinking Sasha’s marijuna laced kool-aid?
I’m not sure I would recommend taking history from Steven Gillon either. History isn’t picking and choosing facts given and facts skewed. My question to you Mr. Gillon is this, if you were to see John again face to face, are you sure you would tell the story about the last time you saw John and Carolyn together - the same way??!
I don’t think so.
And that would be my question to Sasha, Robbie and Brian as well. Would you say what you’ve said the same way to John’s face?
I highly doubt it.
In most all of the pictures we see today of John and Carolyn together, they are holding hands or touching in some way. But they are physically connected. Even just out walking Friday. When together, they are usually touching. The last event they attended and were photographed together was May 23, 1999. 54 days before they died. Going into the Newman’s own event they were beaming, smiling and laughing, holding hands and sticking to each other. John tries to pinch her butt and Carolyn even talks when questioned by a television reporter. You can clearly see she is blossoming and coming into her own. I just don’t see how in a matter of 54 days they could go from that beaming, teasing couple to a couple on the brink of divorce. New information given in this book very much supports that narrative.
Rose Marie Terenzio has been the most fair when recounting her story. I think she’s done herself, John and Carolyn a solid.
Regarding the new negative revelations given in the book by close friends of the couple, I’m going to reference a quote given by John Barlow to CNN in July 2003. John is a close friend of John and Carolyn and was one of 40 people invited to their wedding and is sometimes photographed with the couple.
He says “But, you know, quite apart from that, these are people who are dead.
They're too dead to defend themselves. And to exploit their memories, given the fact that they're not in a position to defend themselves, and with the knowledge that the family will not engage because they don't want to get wrestling the tar baby, is a form of grave robbery, as far as I'm concerned. I mean it's about as ghoulish a thing as you can do.”
Because no matter how flat a pancake, there are 2 sides and generally the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Thank you Dr Phil.
And sadly we are lacking their side. They are not here to defend themselves, or defend their truths.
However there is new information given in the book that dispels many of the rumors surrounding them. So I figured a close 4 was warranted.
The format of the book was good. I liked how the authors were was able to arrange the stories in order so a timeline evolved. Even though there are multiple contributors the overall story was easy to follow and not confusing.
However, this was the book where I finally and firmly decided that Sasha Chermayeff is NOT a good friend. She is so jealous of Carolyn I’m surprised she can pull off even half of the things she says. She’s so totally in love with John, unless it’s her old friend Jenny,she doesn’t want anyone to have him, teeheehee. And yes, she’s says teeheehee. (Maybe that’s in another book, or documentary, but I promise she says it!!) He dated Jenny in high school. And never went back to her. Like ever. And Sasha, you also made out with him in high school. Where was that little tidbit of truth in the I don’t find John attractive information you’ve been spouting? Except he ended that and you said you were okay being just friends. But were you?
Ummm, not really I think.
Oh, and Sasha, if you laid down on the floor and intertwined your hand with my husband’s, I would’ve given my husband a look as well. (And probably would’ve kicked you. And then kicked you out.) And that look would not have said what you finally concluded it said!!! Maybe Carolyn and John had previously had this discussion regarding you and your behavior Sasha. And Carolyn was saying see John, see! She’s totally in love with you!! Sasha is one of the few, who STAYS in John’s inner circle, that didn’t get off to a great start with Carolyn. To me, that says something. And it’s not a good something either. Especially with everything Sasha has said about Carolyn since she died. With friends like Sasha, who needs enemies?!
And this was the book where I finally decided there’s something fishy regarding Julie Baker. Especially where you can’t find where the rumors regarding her originated. Either you hear the same thing over and over and over without much delineation in what’s said so you can bet it’s pretty much right or you can find a name attached to what’s said. In her case, I can’t find either and the information regarding her and that week are in constant flux. But I do find it interesting that she hasn’t really come forward with any real information regarding her relationship with John. I’m not sure if what she says in the book counts. It sounds to me like she’s got some negative backlash and is trying to backpedal. Except for what is rumored regarding that last week, and what Rose Marie says in this book and in her book, Fairytale Interrupted, that he went to lunch with her once a month and she called him and he would take the calls, there’s really nothing.
His only former girlfriend that has said anything is Christina Haag. Her book, Come to the Edge, is quite good and not defamatory to John by any means I thought. So other than Christina, none of his other girlfriends have come forward. Like ever. And boy were there a lot. Which leaves me wondering, and not in a good way people.
However, I just can’t see him putting his marriage in danger.
I absolutely, 100%, don’t believe anything said by “a close friend”.
Who is this “friend”?
And if you can’t stand behind what you’ve said by attaching your name with what you’ve said, then chances are you probably shouldn’t be saying it.
And unfortunately this book has some information from some of those “friends”.
But there are nuggets of information shared in this book by individuals who have authored a book about John or who have been interviewed countless times, that they are just now sharing. I’m talking to you Robert Littel and Sasha Chermayeff. Because what Sasha says disturbed me so much, I began reading and researching and found out that about the time Sasha started talking, her husband had had a major stroke and she desperately needed money. She even started selling her personal photographs of John and Carolyn. Along with personal memorabilia.
And the bombshell Robbie drops? Totally negates what I previously thought was a beautiful biography of a best friend. Robbie, you absolutely should’ve included in your book the fact that John quit talking to you about Carolyn 6 months before they died. Apparently you kept nagging him about fidelity and how you just have to pick one and stick with it.
That’s kind of pertinent information there, “friend”. Especially since you’ve been SAYING in interviews they were happy. But in your book you WRITE you and Sasha think your families were invited to John and Carolyn’s for the Memorial Day and July 4th weekends because that way he and Carolyn didn’t have to be alone…
if you guys think this and love the guy so much- why do you go when invited??? Why didn’t you and Sasha decide, you know what, they need the time alone, if invited let’s say no, let’s tell him, you and Carolyn have a lot going on, you two take this time and be alone, enjoy each other and be together.
The guy is supposedly your BEST friend in like the whole world and you supposedly adore his wife, don’t you want them to be happy??!!
Sounds like to me, you want YOURSELVES to be happy and who cares about them.
The bombshell Brian Steele drops makes me wonder about his motives…. Do you know how many times that guy has been interviewed? He’s gotten a LOT of mileage out of the fact that he shared an office with JFK Jr while they worked at the New York DA’s office. The little encounter he talks about in the book, well I want to know if it happened before or after one of best pictures of John and Carolyn was taken? And why you just NOW sharing Brian?!!
It’s really not cool dude.
For the past 25 years these people have been firmly on John and Carolyn’s side.
Makes me wonder if Brian and Robbie finally started drinking Sasha’s marijuna laced kool-aid?
I’m not sure I would recommend taking history from Steven Gillon either. History isn’t picking and choosing facts given and facts skewed. My question to you Mr. Gillon is this, if you were to see John again face to face, are you sure you would tell the story about the last time you saw John and Carolyn together - the same way??!
I don’t think so.
And that would be my question to Sasha, Robbie and Brian as well. Would you say what you’ve said the same way to John’s face?
I highly doubt it.
In most all of the pictures we see today of John and Carolyn together, they are holding hands or touching in some way. But they are physically connected. Even just out walking Friday. When together, they are usually touching. The last event they attended and were photographed together was May 23, 1999. 54 days before they died. Going into the Newman’s own event they were beaming, smiling and laughing, holding hands and sticking to each other. John tries to pinch her butt and Carolyn even talks when questioned by a television reporter. You can clearly see she is blossoming and coming into her own. I just don’t see how in a matter of 54 days they could go from that beaming, teasing couple to a couple on the brink of divorce. New information given in this book very much supports that narrative.
Rose Marie Terenzio has been the most fair when recounting her story. I think she’s done herself, John and Carolyn a solid.
Regarding the new negative revelations given in the book by close friends of the couple, I’m going to reference a quote given by John Barlow to CNN in July 2003. John is a close friend of John and Carolyn and was one of 40 people invited to their wedding and is sometimes photographed with the couple.
He says “But, you know, quite apart from that, these are people who are dead.
They're too dead to defend themselves. And to exploit their memories, given the fact that they're not in a position to defend themselves, and with the knowledge that the family will not engage because they don't want to get wrestling the tar baby, is a form of grave robbery, as far as I'm concerned. I mean it's about as ghoulish a thing as you can do.”
May 30, 2025
“Born into the spotlight, John F. Kennedy Jr. lived a short but remarkable life filled with expectation, ambition, family pressures, love, and tragedy.”
I had very little knowledge of the Kennedy family and it’s still fair to say my knowledge is limited, but after reading Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy last year and recently finishing JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography, I’ve learned a little more.
JFK, Jr. is an oral history biography, with input and anecdotes from numerous sources including friends, family, and colleagues. Its authors include RoseMarie Terenzio, John’s assistant and friend, and Liz McNeil, an editor at People magazine. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook.
I still can’t get over the lengths John and Carolyn had to go to in order to have the wedding they wanted in secrecy, and I didn’t know David Duchovny went to high school with John. JFK, Jr. does a great job highlighting personal aspects of John’s life.
I had very little knowledge of the Kennedy family and it’s still fair to say my knowledge is limited, but after reading Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy last year and recently finishing JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography, I’ve learned a little more.
JFK, Jr. is an oral history biography, with input and anecdotes from numerous sources including friends, family, and colleagues. Its authors include RoseMarie Terenzio, John’s assistant and friend, and Liz McNeil, an editor at People magazine. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook.
I still can’t get over the lengths John and Carolyn had to go to in order to have the wedding they wanted in secrecy, and I didn’t know David Duchovny went to high school with John. JFK, Jr. does a great job highlighting personal aspects of John’s life.
August 28, 2024
Like any normal American, partially an Irish American, I have always been fascinated by the Kennedys. I knew a bit after JFK Jr but after this book I feel like I knew him. It’s an oral history told by his closest friends and confidantes that covers his entire life. I did this on audio and flew through it. I think this is the quickest I’ve ever done an audiobook. I was looking for a chance to listen whenever I could, until the last few days when I made it to his and Carolyn’s tragic end. This book is brutal and beautiful and just so devastating. I just finished and my heart aches for what was lost, and what a force he could have been in todays political arena. HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend.
August 5, 2024
The form of the text is pleasant, however, it did not convince me to like the main character.
August 31, 2024
I didn't want to finish reading this book because then we lose JFK JR all over again. In the pages of this book, we get him back for a while.
i remember the weekend his plane went missing. I held out hope for so long that they'd find them alive somewhere, somehow. Sadly, we know that didn't happen.
I never met. JFK JR, never saw him in person but it felt like he belonged to all of us. Our Prince of America.
This is a very interesting memoir of his life told by friends, family, business associates, etc - alternating between their stories of him. Bittersweet life of a soul gone far too soon
"I had hoped so much that the son and nephew of two slain heroes would live and work for many decades using his amazing combination of curiosity, good instincts, good heart, and winning personality to make our union more perfect. I believe he would have truly come into his own in the 21 century, finding new ways to cross boundaries and bridge divides, a living embodiment of the better angels of our nature. Now all we can do is remember him fondly, accept the raw truth that too often the good die young and keep the flame of hope for a better world burning. " - Bill Clinton
i remember the weekend his plane went missing. I held out hope for so long that they'd find them alive somewhere, somehow. Sadly, we know that didn't happen.
I never met. JFK JR, never saw him in person but it felt like he belonged to all of us. Our Prince of America.
This is a very interesting memoir of his life told by friends, family, business associates, etc - alternating between their stories of him. Bittersweet life of a soul gone far too soon
"I had hoped so much that the son and nephew of two slain heroes would live and work for many decades using his amazing combination of curiosity, good instincts, good heart, and winning personality to make our union more perfect. I believe he would have truly come into his own in the 21 century, finding new ways to cross boundaries and bridge divides, a living embodiment of the better angels of our nature. Now all we can do is remember him fondly, accept the raw truth that too often the good die young and keep the flame of hope for a better world burning. " - Bill Clinton
July 19, 2024
I am very familiar with the life of John Kennedy Jr. I am one week older than his sister Caroline, and basically grew up with the Kennedys in the news constantly. This is the first book I’ve read devoted solely to JFK Jr, and it was fascinating.
It is a collection of memories told by the people who were with him, from when he was the President’s toddler son until the day he died with his wife in a plane he himself was piloting.
His was a glamorous life and a privileged one. But it was also a very tragic life, and entirely too short. Anyone interested in JFK Jr and the Kennedy family should read this book.
It is a collection of memories told by the people who were with him, from when he was the President’s toddler son until the day he died with his wife in a plane he himself was piloting.
His was a glamorous life and a privileged one. But it was also a very tragic life, and entirely too short. Anyone interested in JFK Jr and the Kennedy family should read this book.
September 22, 2024
This was a good book.
Very interesting. Told by people who really knew both John and Carolyn.
It showed the good and the bad in all the people in JFK Jr.s life and the good and bad in him, too.
He was like Peter Pan. He was never going to really grow up.
I enjoyed the stories told and I spotted the people who hung around with him just to say they knew him. Quite a few and quite a few liars.
Never have been a fan of Terenzio. I think
Carolyn and Lauren would have never been on that plane if she had kept her big nose out of Carolyn and John’s marriage.
I have never heard her say that, but it’s true. She was Jr.s bulldog and Carolyn and Lauren died because of her. (Well… they died because John made a stupid decision…. But they would never have been on the plane in the first place if Terenzio had not guilted Carolyn into going.)
John was on a disaster course all by himself. Risk takers ran in that family and they died because of it.
Such a shame that JFK Jr. would not put his wife before his own need for risks.
So many people were telling John he was destined for the White House…. And the way people vote these days…. With little thought to what a candidate’s real platform is…. He may have been POTUS already…. But he would not have made a good one. He was scattered. Had the attention span of a six week old puppy and had ideas that were ideally wonderful, but impossible to achieve between two parties set on not doing what is best for the WHOLE country. Even his Mom did not want him in politics… but that may have been because she had already lost her husband and brother in law to an assassin’s bullets.
But a good book. Definitely worth the read. It’s a large book. 400 pages. I normally speed read and I didn’t with this book because I enjoyed hearing the stories. It also has a lot of nice pictures. ( There were two pages of photos of John and Carolyn looking quite happy and for some reason Terenzio saw fit to squeeze one picture of her and John dancing at a nightclub right in the middle of one of the pages. Really not the place for that picture)
I got it off my public library shelf. I won’t give Terenzio a dime of blood money. 🩸 🤑
Oh and Sasha Chermayeff…. woman… you were “In Love” with JFK Jr. and you know it. He loved you as only a dear friend… but he felt no sexual chemistry with you because if he had you would have jumped on him in a heartbeat. And shame on you for laying in the floor with him when he broke his ankle that last time and you were holding his hand and stroking his face or whatever. No wonder Carolyn walked by and rolled her eyes and said…. I’m going to watch the kids. Your kids!! You overstepped. I would have stepped on you.
Time to let them
rest in peace, now.
Very interesting. Told by people who really knew both John and Carolyn.
It showed the good and the bad in all the people in JFK Jr.s life and the good and bad in him, too.
He was like Peter Pan. He was never going to really grow up.
I enjoyed the stories told and I spotted the people who hung around with him just to say they knew him. Quite a few and quite a few liars.
Never have been a fan of Terenzio. I think
Carolyn and Lauren would have never been on that plane if she had kept her big nose out of Carolyn and John’s marriage.
I have never heard her say that, but it’s true. She was Jr.s bulldog and Carolyn and Lauren died because of her. (Well… they died because John made a stupid decision…. But they would never have been on the plane in the first place if Terenzio had not guilted Carolyn into going.)
John was on a disaster course all by himself. Risk takers ran in that family and they died because of it.
Such a shame that JFK Jr. would not put his wife before his own need for risks.
So many people were telling John he was destined for the White House…. And the way people vote these days…. With little thought to what a candidate’s real platform is…. He may have been POTUS already…. But he would not have made a good one. He was scattered. Had the attention span of a six week old puppy and had ideas that were ideally wonderful, but impossible to achieve between two parties set on not doing what is best for the WHOLE country. Even his Mom did not want him in politics… but that may have been because she had already lost her husband and brother in law to an assassin’s bullets.
But a good book. Definitely worth the read. It’s a large book. 400 pages. I normally speed read and I didn’t with this book because I enjoyed hearing the stories. It also has a lot of nice pictures. ( There were two pages of photos of John and Carolyn looking quite happy and for some reason Terenzio saw fit to squeeze one picture of her and John dancing at a nightclub right in the middle of one of the pages. Really not the place for that picture)
I got it off my public library shelf. I won’t give Terenzio a dime of blood money. 🩸 🤑
Oh and Sasha Chermayeff…. woman… you were “In Love” with JFK Jr. and you know it. He loved you as only a dear friend… but he felt no sexual chemistry with you because if he had you would have jumped on him in a heartbeat. And shame on you for laying in the floor with him when he broke his ankle that last time and you were holding his hand and stroking his face or whatever. No wonder Carolyn walked by and rolled her eyes and said…. I’m going to watch the kids. Your kids!! You overstepped. I would have stepped on you.
Time to let them
rest in peace, now.
August 3, 2024
We know the ending but deep down somewhere we wish for a different ending. At least that's how I feel. JFK Jr seems to have made very deep impacts on his friends. And had friends from all walks of life (Mike Tyson!? Who knew?). One of my brothers actually played frisbee with him in Central Park a few times and said basically what everyone in this book said, that he was down to earth and extremely likeable and friendly. I got a better feeling for who he was from reading this. Carolyn, maybe a little bit more than what I knew before about her but it was definitely skewed towards John.
One bone to pick - Gogo Ferguson (family owns Cumberland Island where John & Carolyn got married) said she loved watching her "little" stepdaughter teach Teddy to dance the Macarena. Well, I lived on Nantucket and was friends with the two stepdaughters' mother and my nephews went to school with them. They would have been in their late teens/early 20s in 1996. So then not exactly little.
One bone to pick - Gogo Ferguson (family owns Cumberland Island where John & Carolyn got married) said she loved watching her "little" stepdaughter teach Teddy to dance the Macarena. Well, I lived on Nantucket and was friends with the two stepdaughters' mother and my nephews went to school with them. They would have been in their late teens/early 20s in 1996. So then not exactly little.
October 17, 2024
This isn't a bio as much as it is perspectives on JFK, Jr by the people closest to him from all walks of life. I thought I knew everything about the heartbroken little boy saluting his father's casket but this book is filled with surprising, funny, poignant and interesting stories. JFK, Jr. had the personality and charisma to be a leader this country needed and he was bipartisan with friends in both parties who adored him. Everyone has flaws as did JFK, Jr. but what a kind and loving son Jackie raised and what a loss for all of us when he passed away. Beautifully researched book.
December 24, 2024
An audio biography with short clips from his closest friends and associates that is very well put together. Like any biography, it gives you a feeling of what he was like. It’s spun to be mostly positive but doesn’t hold back about youthful behaviors. He was the last of the Kennedy stars.
July 7, 2025
Shattered.
December 27, 2024
Imagine growing up in JFK Jr’s circumstances. This oral history (full-cast audio is a must!) is a chronological compilation from those who knew him well. A beautiful tribute to his much-too-short life. Kind, charismatic, handsome, and well-liked. Certainly the least icky of the male Kennedys, but impulsive to a fault. So much tragedy bestowed upon one family.
December 3, 2024
Written by his longtime assistant, this biography is being labeled as an oral history about JFK Jr. It included clips and quotes from many people who knew and loved him and his family. There's a lot in here that I hadn't heard before and even though it's a bit long, I really liked this and enjoyed the format. I did it on audio and Kindle and liked both versions. It's so hard to think what if he'd lived longer, just as people did for his father. Heartbreaking and a heartfelt book.
Read
May 15, 2025So I cried. ❤️
August 5, 2024
It’s been 25 years! Hard to believe. It will always be such a senseless tragedy!
August 16, 2024
If I could give this book 6 stars, I would. Just speechless! What an emotional, historical and very personal biography that perfectly captures who JFK Jr. was with references from dear friends to specific members John interacted it. I never interacted with politics and truthfully knew he died but did not know how or that it was in 1999. I thought he died in the 1980’s! What a captivating and inciteful knowledgeable read.
August 23, 2024
2.5 This is the third consecutive biography I’ve read — the difference was that the author asked (or complied?—not clear) friends and others memories. Not surprisingly, it’s quite one-sided, leaning into the legendary JFK Jr a la Camelot — it’s a bit repetitive about how “normal” he is. I also found the constant remarks of his “charm” a bit over the top as there’s such a halo effect surrounding him. Meh; for hardcore JFK fans only
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 21, 2025
"There is no Kennedy curse", just a family dedicated to taking risks that ordinary people avoid. I loved how this story was told in part by John’s closest friends and not only his admirers. I wept quietly at my desk as it finished, because I felt like I’d come to be a part of his life over the course of reading. I loved the 80s/90s New York of it all (especially the roller skating). This was expertly done and I wish I could still live in its cinematic universe.
July 5, 2025
The beginning of Chapter 18 of JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography by RoseMarie Terenzio and Liz McNeil, editor-at-large at People, describes an event that will endure in my memory as the closest I ever got to JFK Jr. He was in Chicago promoting his magazine George and my sister Stephanie and I happened to be at the Art Institute of Chicago (one of our favorite places), where he was holding a big, glamorous party later that evening.
Terenzio, co-author of the book, his executive assistant and friend, describes that night.
Sean Neary also described the night. "John was so inclusive-Carl Robbins and I were junior staff at George but we got to be there for the party. There we were in line next to Chelsea Clinton trying to get in...."(253) (Steph and I saw her and a friend roaming around the Art Institute before the party, while we were on a museum tour.)
Alas, there was no last minute invite for us but we stood behind a barricade outside the Art Institute with onlookers and the press, with their bright lights, while guests made their way inside for the celebration. I remember two things about John F. Kennedy Jr., when he sauntered up the museum steps. First, he kept his hands in his pockets - a savvy way to not have to shake anyone's hands. Secondly, I remember that he looked tan and it suited him. He was handsome and self-possessed. I excitedly recounted those two critical details to the neighbor whose children I babysat when she asked me what it was like to see him in person.
It was a month after that promotional party that he got married in a beautiful, intimate wedding on Cumberland Island, Georgia. It seemed like a fairy tale. There are wild Spanish horses that live on the island. How magical is that? I remember going for a run because it was a sunny day when the announcement broke.
Yet, life is not a fairy tale. He died in a plane crash at 38, along with his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, 33, and her sister Lauren, 34. This book, with its insights from friends, co-workers, and others he encountered offers candid, heartfelt vignettes into who John really was, beyond the swirling superficiality of fame. It covers his youth, his friendships, his career and marriage and his untimely death. (There is an appendix in the back of the book, providing the names, job titles and relationships to John of those interviewed. There are also two sections of color photographs.)
Like all of us, JFK Jr. had his faults. He was not the perfect Prince Charming that I had in my young mind. He could arrive late and be accident-prone. He was at times a distracted student. He wasn't a church goer. He experimented with cocaine and he smoked marijuana daily. He could be an exhibitionist about his physique. His relationships with his girlfriends overlapped. Most tragically, he was a driven adventurer who could be dismissive about personal safety concerns for both himself and his companions.
Yet, the genuine portrait of him revealed in the book is so much more human and moving. One friend, Narendra Taneja, described him in such a meaningful way as "a bit of a wounded seeker of truth." "The Sexiest Man Alive," as People magazine dubbed him, tried to find peace with a past he was too young to remember, but that defined his life. I so wanted to believe that this affable man was living a happy life, that I didn't fully explore how the dark experiences of his childhood must have shaped him. The most iconic image of him after all is as a little boy saluting his father's casket. One of his first losses, in a young life full of them, was of younger brother Patrick, who died shortly after birth from Respiratory Distress Syndrome.
There is an exploration in the book about how loss may have contributed to his risk-taking behavior. Steve Gillon, a teaching assistant and friend from John's college days at Brown University and later a biographer of him, sought to understand that aspect of his personality.
It is just my theory, but I think this trauma is why he was often never really fully present in the moment and was constantly losing his belongings throughout his life. (There was also some speculation that he had undiagnosed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or A.D.H.D.) Certainly his wealth might have contributed to his lack of responsibility in keeping track of his possessions. Things could be easily replaced. It also could have been that he had others picking up after him. Joe D'Angelo, retired English and social studies teacher and karate instructor at Collegiate, which John began attending in the third grade, remembered the highly unusual caretakers who kept watch over him.
Even bigger items went missing, according to Ed Hill, a classmate from Andover, which John attended, beginning in eleventh grade.
Jason Beghe, a classmate from Collegiate, described his mother's experiences with John's foibles.
Despite these mishaps, for John life was about forward momentum, on a bike or Rollerblades zooming ahead, in bustling New York City. Gary Ginsberg, his Brown University classmate and senior editor and counsel at George remembered having a conversation with him about death after he lost his mother, a close friend Billy Way and his cousin Michael Kennedy all within a four-year span of each other.
As ever-present as the shadow of death was in his life, the glare of worldwide fame was with him since birth. He was the first baby born to a president-elect. There were bomb threats at his school when he was a kid. Despite the perks of what John called "the JK Factor," where he received special treatment and opportunities because people were impressed with who he was, manipulative hangers-on sought to benefit from any tenuous association with him. His personal setbacks - namely failing the bar exam twice - made headlines and weighed on him because of the outsized expectations of him as the son of a dazzling, fallen young president.
Still there was joy in his life because he was so good-natured, as a lively boy and young man. Preston Bruce, White House doorman, was interviewed for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Oral History in 1964. He described endearing interactions between little John and his father, which are bittersweet because of their limited time together.
Even with his mother's grief after his father's murder, John still had an exuberant spirit. For example, Kathy McKeon, the housekeeper and nanny for John and his sister Caroline, recalled:
That sunny disposition continued at Collegiate School, which he attended through tenth grade. Schoolmate Geoffrey Worrell, remembers:
David Clarke, another classmate, described him in a sweet, wistful way.
His enthusiasm for life extended to a love of learning. His cousin, Kerry Kennedy, remembers:
Founding George, a political magazine splashed with celebrity, was a natural career choice, especially since his own life was at the nexus of those two spheres. I didn't like it (and neither did Caroline) when he resorted to sensationalism, by having Drew Barrymore pose as Marilyn Monroe on a cover but he did use the magazine to try and understand controversial people like Gerry Adams, former president of Sinn Féin in Ireland, who many think of as a terrorist. I felt that the magazine, (I saved their posthumous tribute to him.), was a way to have a foot in politics, but in a way that was independent.
The question of whether he would have gone into the family business and run for president still lingers after all these years. I wonder if he really aspired to political office or saw it more as an inevitable obligation. Even if he seemed ambivalent about politics he was, however, deeply committed to family.
Dr. William Ebenstein, executive director of the John F. Kennedy Jr. Institute for Worker Education (formerly Reaching Up), remembered a charming conversation with John.
He was also captivated by his alluring wife Carolyn, even if the marriage was rocky, as two strong-willed people struggling to define their relationship. There was a lack of understanding. Both could be harsh. There might even have been infidelity. They were in marriage counseling.
RoseMarie Terenzio explains:
Another issue was the intense pressure of the insatiable paparazzi, which depicted Carolyn unfairly as cold and aloof, according to those who knew her. Loved ones remember her as warm and attentive. (I enjoyed learning about her because she remained an enigma to me, having been in the public eye for such a short time before her premature death.) Her kindness extended from the homeless to John's co-workers, friends and the children of friends. I love the stories about her with children, even though sadly she never lived to have any of her own. She seemed to delight in their company.
Amelia Barlow, the daughter of John Perry Barlow, a mentor and friend of John's, remembered staying with her as a special treat.
Phineas Howie, another child of one of John's closest friends, Sasha Chermayeff, also remembered her in a touching, ethereal way.
I hope that Carolyn, John and Lauren are free. I got such a fleeting glimpse of John on the museum steps that evening, 28 years ago. The stories remain though and it is lovely to read them and try to understand the mystery of who that handsome, charismatic man was who so captured my imagination.
Terenzio, co-author of the book, his executive assistant and friend, describes that night.
By the time the 1996 Democratic convention came around, we had the first year of George under our belt. From John's perspective, we should really put on the dog, as he used to say. The way that Vanity Fair owns the Oscars, we should own this. We hosted a big party-probably a thousand people-at the Chicago Art Institute, and he was like, Let it rip. We wanna be the hottest ticket in town. I walked in with Kevin Costner, and you couldn't even move. I was wearing a strappy dress, and the next morning I had bruises on my back from people shoving me, trying to get a picture of John. Hillary and Oprah got a photo with John-they had just gotten there-and right behind them were fire marshals coming in to shut it down. We were violating a fire code. Then John left the party, and it was like Elvis has left the building (253).
Sean Neary also described the night. "John was so inclusive-Carl Robbins and I were junior staff at George but we got to be there for the party. There we were in line next to Chelsea Clinton trying to get in...."(253) (Steph and I saw her and a friend roaming around the Art Institute before the party, while we were on a museum tour.)
Alas, there was no last minute invite for us but we stood behind a barricade outside the Art Institute with onlookers and the press, with their bright lights, while guests made their way inside for the celebration. I remember two things about John F. Kennedy Jr., when he sauntered up the museum steps. First, he kept his hands in his pockets - a savvy way to not have to shake anyone's hands. Secondly, I remember that he looked tan and it suited him. He was handsome and self-possessed. I excitedly recounted those two critical details to the neighbor whose children I babysat when she asked me what it was like to see him in person.
It was a month after that promotional party that he got married in a beautiful, intimate wedding on Cumberland Island, Georgia. It seemed like a fairy tale. There are wild Spanish horses that live on the island. How magical is that? I remember going for a run because it was a sunny day when the announcement broke.
Yet, life is not a fairy tale. He died in a plane crash at 38, along with his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, 33, and her sister Lauren, 34. This book, with its insights from friends, co-workers, and others he encountered offers candid, heartfelt vignettes into who John really was, beyond the swirling superficiality of fame. It covers his youth, his friendships, his career and marriage and his untimely death. (There is an appendix in the back of the book, providing the names, job titles and relationships to John of those interviewed. There are also two sections of color photographs.)
Like all of us, JFK Jr. had his faults. He was not the perfect Prince Charming that I had in my young mind. He could arrive late and be accident-prone. He was at times a distracted student. He wasn't a church goer. He experimented with cocaine and he smoked marijuana daily. He could be an exhibitionist about his physique. His relationships with his girlfriends overlapped. Most tragically, he was a driven adventurer who could be dismissive about personal safety concerns for both himself and his companions.
Yet, the genuine portrait of him revealed in the book is so much more human and moving. One friend, Narendra Taneja, described him in such a meaningful way as "a bit of a wounded seeker of truth." "The Sexiest Man Alive," as People magazine dubbed him, tried to find peace with a past he was too young to remember, but that defined his life. I so wanted to believe that this affable man was living a happy life, that I didn't fully explore how the dark experiences of his childhood must have shaped him. The most iconic image of him after all is as a little boy saluting his father's casket. One of his first losses, in a young life full of them, was of younger brother Patrick, who died shortly after birth from Respiratory Distress Syndrome.
There is an exploration in the book about how loss may have contributed to his risk-taking behavior. Steve Gillon, a teaching assistant and friend from John's college days at Brown University and later a biographer of him, sought to understand that aspect of his personality.
I met with a psychologist at Columbia who specializes in trauma. Think about the trauma John had - it's not just his father's assassination, five years later it's his uncle who became like a father figure, and shortly after that it's Onassis who also became his stepfather. [In addition, his step-brother Aléxandros Onassis died at the age of 24 in the same manner John's life would be so suddenly cut short - a plane crash.] All by the time he's fourteen. The trauma is compounded by the fact that they were moving all the time. John leaves the only house he knew, the White House. They moved to one place in Washington, another place in Washington, and then to New York. A year after his father's assassination, John lived in four different houses. And then the Secret Service themselves are a constant reminder of what happened to his father - and that his own life might be in danger. The psychologist said one of the ways that people respond to that type of trauma is to seek out danger. They are thrill seekers because they realize life could be snuffed out at any moment, so they want to live their life to the fullest. But also, they're like a moth to a candle. They're drawn to danger and the possibility of further trauma. I'm not psychoanalyzing John, but it makes sense to me (307-308)..
It is just my theory, but I think this trauma is why he was often never really fully present in the moment and was constantly losing his belongings throughout his life. (There was also some speculation that he had undiagnosed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or A.D.H.D.) Certainly his wealth might have contributed to his lack of responsibility in keeping track of his possessions. Things could be easily replaced. It also could have been that he had others picking up after him. Joe D'Angelo, retired English and social studies teacher and karate instructor at Collegiate, which John began attending in the third grade, remembered the highly unusual caretakers who kept watch over him.
He was forgetful about things, constantly leaving things places. The security guys were always picking up after him. "Where's your bag, John?" He'd go and play in the courtyard, a favorite thing to do, and he'd leave his stuff there. Kids are always leaving pens around. What pen do you think he left around? A Montblanc. What kid leaves a Montblanc? There's no cap. Just the pen. That's how he was (44)..
Even bigger items went missing, according to Ed Hill, a classmate from Andover, which John attended, beginning in eleventh grade.
But I really cannot muster an ill word about that guy. Okay, he left shit in taxicabs. God knows how many bicycles that guy owned and lost, God knows how many cars were stolen or wound up in impoundment or that sort of absent-minded thing that was a big part of him. Not that those things aren't substantial. But where the rubber hit the road in terms of the way John treated other people, in terms of what John was willing to do for other people, I mean, he was as good a man as I've ever known (395).
Jason Beghe, a classmate from Collegiate, described his mother's experiences with John's foibles.
My mother would always have a heart attack when John came over to our place. Not because she gave a shit about his fame, but because invariably he would break something. I remember once the house had just been painted and he sat on one of the windowsills and got upset because his pants and sweater were ruined. My mother was upset because the paint was ruined. Another time he broke the chandelier with his tennis racket. Every time he came over there was something. John was an accident waiting to happen (51).
Despite these mishaps, for John life was about forward momentum, on a bike or Rollerblades zooming ahead, in bustling New York City. Gary Ginsberg, his Brown University classmate and senior editor and counsel at George remembered having a conversation with him about death after he lost his mother, a close friend Billy Way and his cousin Michael Kennedy all within a four-year span of each other.
I was like, "Man, you take death better than anybody I know. How do you do it?" And he said something like "Because we have suffered so much death, I learned. I trained myself to never wallow." I think that's why he never commemorated anniversaries of assassinations or deaths. Only birthdays. His constant mantra on death was I cannot let it get to me. And he didn't (297).
As ever-present as the shadow of death was in his life, the glare of worldwide fame was with him since birth. He was the first baby born to a president-elect. There were bomb threats at his school when he was a kid. Despite the perks of what John called "the JK Factor," where he received special treatment and opportunities because people were impressed with who he was, manipulative hangers-on sought to benefit from any tenuous association with him. His personal setbacks - namely failing the bar exam twice - made headlines and weighed on him because of the outsized expectations of him as the son of a dazzling, fallen young president.
Still there was joy in his life because he was so good-natured, as a lively boy and young man. Preston Bruce, White House doorman, was interviewed for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Oral History in 1964. He described endearing interactions between little John and his father, which are bittersweet because of their limited time together.
It was always rather comical when John-John would holler to his dad [as he left for the office every morning]. "Don't leave me," he said. "We've got to go to work." The president would call back and tell him,"Come on, let's go to work." And John-John would come down in his pajamas and bathrobe and of course, I'd come out to the door. I'd follow them to the office, to bring him back. That was a lot of fun (5).
Even with his mother's grief after his father's murder, John still had an exuberant spirit. For example, Kathy McKeon, the housekeeper and nanny for John and his sister Caroline, recalled:
John was the first up every morning, by seven. He was always looking for his breakfast. And he loved the kitchen. He loved to cook. Making pancakes. Oh, what a mess. He'd put on a cook's apron and a big chef's hat. And he'd stand up on a chair because he couldn't reach the table, and he'd be mixing away and putting it in the pan (26).
That sunny disposition continued at Collegiate School, which he attended through tenth grade. Schoolmate Geoffrey Worrell, remembers:
John got into food fights from time to time. Once, he threw ice cream at somebody. Some of it hit me and I turned and glared at him. And then he said, "Wait a minute." And he took some ice cream and just put it on his head, completely defusing the situation and making everybody laugh. That's the type of person he was. Very self-effacing, down-to-earth (42).
David Clarke, another classmate, described him in a sweet, wistful way.
John was happy during his Collegiate years. Just one of the boys running down the hall with his shirttail out, that mop of hair, laughing, yelling, and free. We loved him and we loved each other. He turned from a little boy into a young man. Smoked cigs, smoked pot, met girls. It was so normal, as normal as it could be. It can still make me cry (57).
His enthusiasm for life extended to a love of learning. His cousin, Kerry Kennedy, remembers:
I never met anyone who read so voraciously or constantly. When John slept over, one of his best friends...lined up cereal boxes on the breakfast table so that John, once he finished consuming three morning papers, would have something to read. He was so thirsty for knowledge, we joked he was completely indiscriminate about what he read, as long as he was reading...If I had one word to describe John, it would be "curious" (154-155).
Founding George, a political magazine splashed with celebrity, was a natural career choice, especially since his own life was at the nexus of those two spheres. I didn't like it (and neither did Caroline) when he resorted to sensationalism, by having Drew Barrymore pose as Marilyn Monroe on a cover but he did use the magazine to try and understand controversial people like Gerry Adams, former president of Sinn Féin in Ireland, who many think of as a terrorist. I felt that the magazine, (I saved their posthumous tribute to him.), was a way to have a foot in politics, but in a way that was independent.
The question of whether he would have gone into the family business and run for president still lingers after all these years. I wonder if he really aspired to political office or saw it more as an inevitable obligation. Even if he seemed ambivalent about politics he was, however, deeply committed to family.
Dr. William Ebenstein, executive director of the John F. Kennedy Jr. Institute for Worker Education (formerly Reaching Up), remembered a charming conversation with John.
One time I was meeting John for dinner at Shun Lee, the so-called best Chinese restaurant in Manhattan, to talk about our projects. John comes in and he's got paint all over his hands. I go,"John, what's with the paint?" He says that he's just come from his sister Caroline's house and he was playing with Tatiana and Rose on the floor with finger paints. It was just typical John - so happy on the floor with his nieces, playing with paint. But also, he didn't go wash it off. He just comes to the restaurant with child's paint all over his hands (304).
He was also captivated by his alluring wife Carolyn, even if the marriage was rocky, as two strong-willed people struggling to define their relationship. There was a lack of understanding. Both could be harsh. There might even have been infidelity. They were in marriage counseling.
RoseMarie Terenzio explains:
Carolyn had taken scuba diving lessons so she could go on trips with him. She went ice climbing with him in New Hampshire or Maine and she said it was fucking scary. She said, "I'm never doing it again." She felt he took it all for granted. She was looking for him to say, Hey,you gave it a shot. And that was the crux of their problems. I gave up my whole life and have tried to assimilate to your lifestyle -- and it was like, Yeah, so? Like it was never enough. She'd say,"There is no money in the bank with John" (322).
Another issue was the intense pressure of the insatiable paparazzi, which depicted Carolyn unfairly as cold and aloof, according to those who knew her. Loved ones remember her as warm and attentive. (I enjoyed learning about her because she remained an enigma to me, having been in the public eye for such a short time before her premature death.) Her kindness extended from the homeless to John's co-workers, friends and the children of friends. I love the stories about her with children, even though sadly she never lived to have any of her own. She seemed to delight in their company.
Amelia Barlow, the daughter of John Perry Barlow, a mentor and friend of John's, remembered staying with her as a special treat.
Carolyn was sort of my heroine, role model, mom. My dad would always plan our trips for when John was out of town so that my sisters and I could go live with Carolyn. I would sleep with her - she would always say, "Okay, you're gonna be right here with me." They had that huge bed in the master bedroom. It felt like an ocean because I was so little - I'd never seen a California King bed before. Here's this bed and it's like an entire room. The bathtub was a swimming pool. It was awesome. We would get in bed and she would get up and get a banana in the middle of the night and I would chase her back over to the other side and she'd say, "I've never quite had anybody chase me around a bed before." I would call her on the phone from Wyoming. Often when I would have these emotional fluctuations I would wanna go to her because she understood. One of my best friends was a bully and I called Carolyn and I was in tears. She said, "When I was your age, I was very similar. I was very sensitive and a lot of people didn't understand me. And I was being bullied." She said, "The best thing I ended up realizing is that I am unique and these girls are gonna stay in this town forever, but I'm going to be able to leave because I am different. So the best thing you could possibly do is tell them that they're little bitches and walk away" (319).
Phineas Howie, another child of one of John's closest friends, Sasha Chermayeff, also remembered her in a touching, ethereal way.
We would go to the beach on the Vineyard. Carolyn was super sweet, super affectionate with us. John was running around - he wasn't one to sit down too much. I remember Carolyn as more of a sensation. She was squeezing and hugging us a lot. So affectionate that it drove me crazy a little bit. I was like, Gee. My dad wouldn't just get us a toy if we asked him out of the blue, but she spoiled us. I remember a plastic bumblebee on a stick that would spin in the wind. My sister, Livi, and I each got a different color. Carolyn's long, long blond hair was sort of wispy and it would blow around.... (320)..
I hope that Carolyn, John and Lauren are free. I got such a fleeting glimpse of John on the museum steps that evening, 28 years ago. The stories remain though and it is lovely to read them and try to understand the mystery of who that handsome, charismatic man was who so captured my imagination.
May 21, 2025
(Long, detailed review) This book was a very good read for anyone who is a fan of the Kennedy family, especially JFK's side. The authors did a great job including JFK Jr's friends from various stages of his life. A lot of new details about their marriage was also mentioned which explained a lot of the issues they were having.
Like other reviewers have mentioned, Sasha Chermayeff comes off as a very bitter woman clearly jealous of John's relationship with women. She even sounded misogynistic at times. She was dismissive of ALL his girlfriends except for one who happened to be her lifelong friend Jenny. For example, she described John's relationship with Meg Azzoni and Lydia Hutton in high school as just 'big breasts'. Sasha believed John dated those women only for their bodies, a type that happened to be the complete opposite of her. Jealousy. She continues on to say that John was exploring 'big breasts". That's such a misogynistic way of looking at a relationship. How would she know how John felt about these women? Is she a telepath?
Sasha also said that John was attracted to Christina Haag because she was 'sex kitten' to him and that he never thought of marrying her. Again, there she goes with the objectification of his girlfriends and how does she know whether or not John talked to Christina about marriage? Unless these thoughts were expressed to her directly by John—which the book does not confirm—such statements seem to be based on assumption rather than fact. I'm sure that's an intimate subject that only Christina can speak to, not Sasha.
Her jealousy shines through again when she talks about John's brief relationship with Sarah Jessica Parker. SJP never said she was in a serious, committed relationship with John ever. The press blew it out of proportion but clearly Sasha is sill jealous. Sasha goes on to say how she ran her fingers through John's hair many times, and would sit on his lap and sleep next to him yada yada.
Sasha was negative towards ALL his girlfriends, including Daryl Hannah, because in her eyes no one was good enough except for her close friend Jenny Christian who she admitted to secretly pushing John towards while he was married. I don't want to even get into the details of the condescending way she spoke about Carolyn Bessette but you can probably guess how it went!
I appreciated hearing from some of JFK Jr.'s girlfriends who had never spoken out before, such as Lisa Shields. It was a refreshing change from Julie Baker, who seems to be the only girlfriend frequently mentioned in books about John, yet reveals very little about their relationship. Julie never delves into why their relationship ended or why it was never exclusive. She described it as dating "consistently but not exclusively,". Consistently is correct as it's highly likely they were having an affair before he died.
Her relationship with her married ex-boyfriend also seems unconventional and hard to understand. I find it difficult to believe that John referred to Julie as his "soulmate" when their relationship didn’t appear to be serious, and was more akin to a "friends with benefits" situation. John, unfortunately, isn't around to give his side, but Julie’s portrayal of their time together often feels opportunistic. She comes off as an opportunistic woman to who likes to ride her dead ex-boyfriend's coattails.
I read elsewhere she took an opportunity with this book to backtrack the stories of her visiting John's hotel rooms late at night twice in a row before he died to save face. If her truly 'just wanted to talk' like she tells over and over, John had a cellphone. It was unnecessary to physically be in his hotel room past midnight to' just talk'.. . it's clear as day that they were having an affair.
Overall, while the book provides valuable insights into JFK Jr.'s life, some of the contributions—particularly Sasha’s—should be taken with a grain of salt due to their clearly biased and often speculative nature. If you're looking for more insight into Carolyn, this book does have new stories shared by her friends which was a nice change.
Like other reviewers have mentioned, Sasha Chermayeff comes off as a very bitter woman clearly jealous of John's relationship with women. She even sounded misogynistic at times. She was dismissive of ALL his girlfriends except for one who happened to be her lifelong friend Jenny. For example, she described John's relationship with Meg Azzoni and Lydia Hutton in high school as just 'big breasts'. Sasha believed John dated those women only for their bodies, a type that happened to be the complete opposite of her. Jealousy. She continues on to say that John was exploring 'big breasts". That's such a misogynistic way of looking at a relationship. How would she know how John felt about these women? Is she a telepath?
Sasha also said that John was attracted to Christina Haag because she was 'sex kitten' to him and that he never thought of marrying her. Again, there she goes with the objectification of his girlfriends and how does she know whether or not John talked to Christina about marriage? Unless these thoughts were expressed to her directly by John—which the book does not confirm—such statements seem to be based on assumption rather than fact. I'm sure that's an intimate subject that only Christina can speak to, not Sasha.
Her jealousy shines through again when she talks about John's brief relationship with Sarah Jessica Parker. SJP never said she was in a serious, committed relationship with John ever. The press blew it out of proportion but clearly Sasha is sill jealous. Sasha goes on to say how she ran her fingers through John's hair many times, and would sit on his lap and sleep next to him yada yada.
Sasha was negative towards ALL his girlfriends, including Daryl Hannah, because in her eyes no one was good enough except for her close friend Jenny Christian who she admitted to secretly pushing John towards while he was married. I don't want to even get into the details of the condescending way she spoke about Carolyn Bessette but you can probably guess how it went!
I appreciated hearing from some of JFK Jr.'s girlfriends who had never spoken out before, such as Lisa Shields. It was a refreshing change from Julie Baker, who seems to be the only girlfriend frequently mentioned in books about John, yet reveals very little about their relationship. Julie never delves into why their relationship ended or why it was never exclusive. She described it as dating "consistently but not exclusively,". Consistently is correct as it's highly likely they were having an affair before he died.
Her relationship with her married ex-boyfriend also seems unconventional and hard to understand. I find it difficult to believe that John referred to Julie as his "soulmate" when their relationship didn’t appear to be serious, and was more akin to a "friends with benefits" situation. John, unfortunately, isn't around to give his side, but Julie’s portrayal of their time together often feels opportunistic. She comes off as an opportunistic woman to who likes to ride her dead ex-boyfriend's coattails.
I read elsewhere she took an opportunity with this book to backtrack the stories of her visiting John's hotel rooms late at night twice in a row before he died to save face. If her truly 'just wanted to talk' like she tells over and over, John had a cellphone. It was unnecessary to physically be in his hotel room past midnight to' just talk'.. . it's clear as day that they were having an affair.
Overall, while the book provides valuable insights into JFK Jr.'s life, some of the contributions—particularly Sasha’s—should be taken with a grain of salt due to their clearly biased and often speculative nature. If you're looking for more insight into Carolyn, this book does have new stories shared by her friends which was a nice change.
August 27, 2024
John F. Kennedy Jr. was famous when he was born into a family that many consider American royalty. His short life was filled with love, success, trials, and tragedy, and for the first time, friends and colleagues share their memories, relationships, and impressions of a man we all feel we know. Twenty-five years after his tragic death alongside his wife and sister-in-law in a plane crash, we can now understand the complex individual that was JFK, Jr.
This was an incredibly in-depth look at John F. Kennedy, Jr. from the people closest to him during his too-short life. We get a better understanding of his childhood, schooling, and young adulthood, along with his ambitions, starting with the publication of his magazine, George. What I found the most interesting was that he might have one day run for office, and you have to wonder if the world would have been a different place if he had found his way into the political realm. His place in American history was cemented with his salute to his father, but JFK, Jr. was so much more than the man behind our collective image of him.
This was an incredibly in-depth look at John F. Kennedy, Jr. from the people closest to him during his too-short life. We get a better understanding of his childhood, schooling, and young adulthood, along with his ambitions, starting with the publication of his magazine, George. What I found the most interesting was that he might have one day run for office, and you have to wonder if the world would have been a different place if he had found his way into the political realm. His place in American history was cemented with his salute to his father, but JFK, Jr. was so much more than the man behind our collective image of him.
January 2, 2025
I went into this book weary because of the length and because i typically am not very interested biographies of modern historical figures, but this one blew me away. The storytelling was magnificent and i was hooked from the beginning. I’ve always been interested in the Kennedy family, as is the case with most, especially coming from New England, but the way that this story shined a new light on the family and John as an individual really surprised me. We all know the toll that the press has on any prominent figure through the later half of the 20th century, but it was incredibly interesting to hear it from the perspective of someone who basked in it while also knowing the impact it has on themselves and those around him. In this book we saw John for who he was fully, the good and bad, which is a great feat to compose on such a beloved American figure. I recommend this book to anyone who has even the slightest of interest in the Kennedy family, you will feel like you are really there listening in on friends and family reminiscing about someone they loved. Excellent read, great start to the new year!
August 6, 2024
I loved RoseMarie’s book “Fairy Tale Interrupted,” about her time working with JFK Jr. at George and the close relationship she formed with him and Carolyn. Couldn’t wait for this book - enjoyed reading about all of the “framily” that formed John’s circle and the progression of his 20s and 30s. Have read a few books about the topic, and this one had some new information and insight, and definitely a few laugh out loud moments due to John’s antics.
August 30, 2024
Amazing autobiography of a child on a life long journey to emerge from the shadows of his famous father. Heartwarming coverage of various perspectives ranging from friends, family, critics, paparazzi, partners, associates, presidents and reporters. From the iconic salute to the unfortunate crash, JFK Jr is a biography that should be read.
April 1, 2025
For my 🫀 friends, here’s my abbreviated book review. It was great! I loved hearing from JFK Jr’s friends and CBK’s friends. Great lives, lived well and cut short by an avoidable mistake made by an often careless and carefree man. Maybe JFK Jr was a Republican!! 😱 Maybe he was in the jet set vapid 80s and 90s and thriving! 🥂
August 27, 2025
I try not to rate biographies, as I don’t think it’s fair to rate someone’s lived experience; however, this one moved me to tears multiple times. I think the documentary-style account of his life complimented his legacy much more than a political or historical biography would have. Very well done.
September 14, 2024
I have just finished reading a very detailed and very informative book about the late John F Kennedy Jr. it is told by the woman who worked with him and knew him best. Through oral interviews with his family and friends emerges a very complex man who was trying to be better understood as a man.
September 8, 2024
I grew up in a family that revered the Kennedys. My sister died weeks before John and their deaths have always been intertwined in my mind. It’s really a beautiful memorial to the life of a remarkable man that touched the lives of so many.
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