Oprah’s Book Club – What Remains,

From the library of Oprah’s best book picks is a review of What Remains. Almost every little girl dreams of growing up and marrying a prince however, few are actually able to do it. What Remains is a vivid and haunting memoir about a girl from a working-class town who becomes an award-winning television producer and marries a prince, Anthony Radziwill, one of a long line of Polish royals and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.

Radziwill’s story is one of honesty about life and what can be dealt out. The story tells of how Radziwill grew up in a small suburb. She spent her childhood summers with her grandparents and an odd assortment of aunts and uncles in upstate New York.

According to her story in What Remains, at the age of nineteen, Carole struck out for New York City to find a different life. Her career at ABC News led her to the refugee camps of Cambodia, to a bunker in Tel Aviv, to the scene of the Menendez murders. The story of What Remains shows the great deal of loss in Radziwill’s life. When John Kennedy Jr., Anthony’s cousin, and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, Carole’s closest friend were killed it changed something in Radziwill’s life. Three weeks after the plane crash her husband Anthony dies of cancer. Although her loss is great Radziwill handles it with grace borne of humble beginnings.

According to Radziwill, this is a personal memoir about a woman, her husband, his illness and their friends. Some of these friends are well known. But most are referred to only by first names – Holly, Pete, Diane and Mike. This is not a book where one checks the index. There is no scandal, nothing to give offense. No invasions of other people’s privacy. It is a poignant tale of one woman’s life and loss in life.