Once upon a Time

The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy

By: Elizabeth Beller

Narrated by: Emily Tremaine

Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

A NEW YORK TIMES, LOS ANGELES TIMES, USA TODAY BESTSELLER

The life and legacy of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, wife of John F. Kennedy Jr., are reexamined in this captivating and effervescent biography that is perfect for fans of My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy, What Remains, and Fairy Tale Interrupted.

A quarter of a century after the plane crash that claimed the lives of John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn, and her sister Lauren, the magnitude of this tragedy remains fresh. Yet, Carolyn is still an enigmatic figure, a woman whose short life in the spotlight was besieged with misogyny and cruelty.

Amidst today’s cultural reckoning about the way our media treats women, Elizabeth Beller explores the real person behind the tabloid headlines and media frenzy. When she began dating America’s prince, Carolyn was increasingly thrust into an overwhelming spotlight filled with relentless paparazzi who reacted to her reserve with a campaign of harassment and vilification.

To this day, she is still depicted as a privileged princess—icy, vapid, and drug-addicted. She has even been accused of being responsible for their untimely death, allegedly delaying take-off until she finished her pedicure. But now, she is revealed as never before.

A fiercely independent woman devoted to her adopted city and career, Carolyn relied on her impeccable eye and drive to fly up the ranks at Calvin Klein in the glossy, high-stakes fashion world of the 1990s. When Carolyn met her future husband, John was immediately drawn to her strong-willed personality, effortless charm, and high intelligence. Their relationship would change her life and catapult her to dizzying fame, but it was her vibrant life before their marriage and then hidden afterwards, that is truly fascinating.

Based on in-depth research and exclusive interviews with friends, family members, teachers, roommates, and colleagues, this comprehensive biography reveals a multi-faceted woman worthy of our attention regardless of her husband and untimely death.

©2024 Elizabeth Beller (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

An exquisite portrait

Beautifully written, poignant, supported with evidence from friends and family…. A fascinating biography of a beloved person

The real Caroline Bissett Kennedy revealed

I admit to not knowing much about this tragedy and the woman who captured JFK Junior’s heart. It was a very quick listen to it painted a picture of someone who was vilified my the press when alive but who was was the most lovely woman married to a man who could have done incredible things in the political world, and possibly prevented a lot of the tragedies that have happened to us in the choice of our political leaders. We will never know what this duo could have accomplished, but now that I better know who she was it makes this tragedy even more pointless
Narrator was very good and despite my vision, being poor and now listening to books instead of reading them, I was able to follow the story very well will search for more from this author.

Insightful

Provided more background on the elusive wife of “America’s Prince.” I can’t go but hear these stories and wish for a different ending. Heartbreaking even after 25 years. Would like to learn more about the surviving sister, Lisa. The devastation she and her mother must’ve gone through is unimaginable as well of course for JFK Jr family and friends, let alone the world.

Well Told Story

Well told story, learned much about this interesting, beautiful woman and her relationships with family, friends and her husband.

A new perspective on Carolyn

I was a teenager when Carolyn died, and I remember thinking - they’re finally saying nice things about her. The press was really harsh on her when she was alive, plastering her “grumpy” face all over magazines. This book gives you more insight into her world and what she was dealing with behind the scenes. The only downside to the book are the constant “she was so beautiful and kind” at the beginning of each chapter, as different people were quoted. Although I do believe she was a lovely human, you don’t have to force-feed it down our throats to convince us. All the other accounts proved it.

A woman of substance

This was a surprisingly interesting book that was hard to put down. Caroline was a unique and complex woman of supreme confidence despite her middle class origins. Her depth, kindness, charm, intellect and empathy was not apparent in Her media portrayal as an icy beauty known for minimalist fashion and stone cold expressions. I don't think their marriage would have survived had they had lived, but theirs was truly a great and passionate love story. Caroline was a private woman like her mother-in-law Jacqueline Kennedy. But Jackie learned how to navigate life in the eye of a media storm. And Caroline never did. It probably would have eventually unraveled their union, but I'm sure they would have been obsessed with each other to the end. Caroline wasn't intimidated by John's fame and fortune - and he loved that. To her he was just a regular guy and he loved that.

Not the best

The author seemed to really want to put her own spin on things. Felt very opinionated and that she was grasping to make connections between things. Not my favorite.

Learned much that I did not know

The author did a lot of research and quotes all the sources. So you learn that this woman was very different than what the public thought because people told lies about her just to make interesting news and it really ruined their lives and kept them from having children. It is so sad what she had to live through.And there really needs to be a law regarding paparazzi. And you also learn that he had many flaws.And it would have been difficult for anyone to have been married to him. I think it was irresponsible of him to fly at night when he could not see and he had no instructor with him. He is solely responsible for all three deaths. And to think that she did not want to go on that trip. She could still be alive.

Great story about a beautiful lady!

the story itself was very well done. it made you see a side of Carolyn that I don't think many people knew. however, I did it on audio and the pronunciation, or should I say mispronunciation, of certain words over and over again really bothered me. it didn't take away that much from the story itself, but when you're listening to a story about the Kennedys and Bouvier is mispronounced several times, it's a little bit annoying. overall though, I would definitely recommend this book. it made me feel a lot different about Carolyn.

New details

Narrator was not engaging. Her accent and voice were distracting from the story. The story was interesting, enough to keep me company for a 10 hour drive.