I remember well the weekend that John F. Kennedy Jr.’s plane went missing en route to a family wedding at the Kennedy Compound, in July 1999 – as I suspect most of us my age does. Even before smartphones and social media, television news coverage was constant and I was glued as we all quickly realized the worst had happened, and John, his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren, were all lost.

They were, of course, the most stunning couple – she was so beautiful – and everyone was shocked and terribly saddened by their deaths.

As the 25th anniversary of the accident approached (how have 25 years already passed?), articles were published remembering them – and a book came out about Carolyn, celebrating her as the lovely person it seems she actually was (in the face of what was truly awful tabloid coverage, both during her life and after her death).

Not only did I read Elizabeth Beller’s Once Upon a Time – and find it to be a wonderful perspective on her life – but it also sent me down a rabbit hole of sorts.

This book painted a picture of a vibrant woman, loving her friends and family, looking after the staff at John’s magazine George, being ridiculously in love with her dog, Friday, and cat, Ruby – ❤ – and, finally, staying at the hospital as often as she could with John’s cousin and closest friend, Anthony – who was terminally ill and would die shortly after him – and his wife – Carolyn’s best friend – Carole Radziwill.

From there, the book often referenced Carole Radziwill’s memoir What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love.

Of course, I then wanted to read her story – and it is beautiful – but it is a hard read.

In What Remains, Carole shares many precious memories of her life with Anthony, Carolyn, and John together, from meeting and marrying Anthony and getting to know John, to meeting Carolyn and growing incredibly close, to walking together through all of Anthony’s illness. It is heart wrenching to read with her as she loses them all within a few weeks, John and Carolyn so suddenly and tragically, and then Anthony’s death expected – but no less devastating.

I would absolutely recommend her book to better understand their story though. It is beautiful.

It also took me further down my rabbit hole – as she often refers to John’s assistant Rosemarie Terenzio, who also wrote a memoir (that, by this point, was frequently on my recommended list as I was reading).

Fairy Tale Interrupted is Rosemarie’s story of coming to work for John as his assistant, before George and before he was married to Carolyn. Her story of him really giving her a start – she would become George‘s Chief of Staff – and the sort of brother/sister nature of their relationship – as well as the closeness she later developed with Carolyn – is really interesting and sweet.

It furthered my rabbit hole because she often mentions George’s artistic director Matt Berman – and his book is free on Amazon Prime.

He offers a different – and really lovely – perspective from working with John and Carolyn inside George as well.

Finishing my trip down this rabbit hole was a beautiful art book of Carolyn’s lasting effect on fashion. Her minimalist style is still affecting design now, 25 years later.

Sunita Kumar’s CBK: Caroyn Bessette-Kennedy: A Life in Fashion is filled with countless pictures, essays, and tributes from figures in fashion such as Michael Kors, Manolo Blahnik, Tory Burch, and Calvin Klein – for whom Carolyn worked until she married John.

It is gorgeous book and a wonderful way to remember Carolyn.

This was an unexpectedly captivating rabbit hole, and I thought it warranted its own book report for sure. ❤

Next up, we are due for some Olympic talk I say. 😉

Be well, everybody. Take care of yourselves and each other. 

Grace and Blessings.