The Secret Memoirs of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Book excerpt: Jackie Kennedy quite famously said, "I want to live my life, not record it." She remains elusive, her interior life hidden, her feelings and motivations secret. Yet who has not wondered what lay behind those sunglasses? Haven't we all wondered how Jackie felt about Jack's womanizing? How could she not have known? How did she tolerate it? How did her childhood passions and turbulent family life shape her choices? How did her love of fashion and culture influence the White House? What did she think about Marilyn Monroe? Why did she ever marry Onassis? What made her take a job in publishing when she clearly didn't need one? How did she endure the loss of her babies, the pressure of the Kennedy political machine, the murder of her husband, the never ending paparazzi, and the news of her imminent death? In this powerful, poignant, and sweeping novel, Ruth Francisco tells Jackie's story in Jackie's voice and boldly plunges into the subtext of her public life, reimagining her thoughts and feelings between the lines of recorded history.