What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love (Carole Radziwill)

My sister the pop-culture nut, the one who recommended Jeannie out of the Bottle to me, loves the Kennedys, especially John Jr. and Carolyn (Bessette), the quintessential prince and princess of the United States. So my sister said I had to, had to, read What Remains, which prominently features John and Carolyn. The author, Carole Radizwill, is a real-life princess, but there’s very little fairy tale in the pages of this somber memoir.  

Carole was raised in a thoroughly lower-middle-class family, but she married Anthony Radziwill, the son of Polish Prince Stanislaw Radziwill. Anthony’s mother is Lee Bouvier, who is Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis’ sister, and Anthony is therefore the cousin of John Jr. and Caroline.

Go ahead. Reread that until you get it. I know it’s a jumble. And if you’re anything like me, your head is also spinning with all the “Carol” derivatives. Let that be a lesson in giving your children trendy names. But just to make sure we have things straight, here’s the rundown:

Carole is the author, Anthony’s wife, and Carolyn’s best friend.

Carolyn is John’s wife.

Caroline is John’s sister.

But this book isn’t a gossipy, name-dropping thing. Instead, it’s a tragedy, a dark and dignified detailing of Anthony’s fight with cancer and John and Carolyn’s deaths, lightened just enough by anecdotes of sweet friendship.

Carole and Anthony's Wedding

My sister tells me that Carole is now on a Real Housewives television show, but since I don’t watch it, I only know her from this book’s narrative. She seems serious. Intense. Not especially sweet (as was Carolyn), nor jovial (as was John), nor optimistic (as was Anthony). She’s inclined to wax philosophical, and deeply, so that a few of her musings are nearly incomprehensible. But mostly her thoughts are poignant and beautifully expressed. From what I understand, Carole does not use a ghostwriter. Her style is elegant but not oppressively erudite. Although I never consulted my dictionary, I also never questioned her literary skill.

What Remains is a bleak chronicle of suffering and death, but not secondarily, it’s an intriguing glimpse into the moment-by-moment lives of the American aristocracy - their surprisingly average existence differentiated from the masses mainly by harder than average work and way better than average vacations. 

Carole Radziwill

The divide between the haves and have-nots is clear, but as someone who has crossed it, Carole understands and represents both sides without prejudice, even refreshingly without social commentary. She simply tells her experiences in both worlds. Through her starkly honest storytelling, Carole illuminates the commonalities of the human experience - love and joy, grief and pain - regardless of money or privilege.

Check it out on Amazon!