What Remains

A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love

By: Carole Radziwill

Narrated by: Carole Radziwill

Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

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. Carole Radziwill's story is part fairy tale, part tragedy. She tells both with great candor and wit.

Carole grew up in a small suburb with a large, eccentric cast of characters. She spent her childhood summers with her grandparents and an odd assortment of aunts and uncles in their poorly plumbed A-frame on the banks of a muddy creek in upstate New York.

At the age of 19, 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. Her marriage led her into the old world of European nobility and the newer world of American aristocracy.

What Remains begins with loss and returns to loss. A small plane plunges into the ocean, carrying John Kennedy, Anthony's cousin, and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, Carole's closest friend. Three weeks later Anthony dies of cancer. The summer of the plane crash, the four friends were meant to be cherishing Anthony's last days. Instead, Carole and Anthony mourned John and Carolyn, even as Carole planned her husband's memorial.

Carole Radziwill has an anthropologist's sensibility and a journalist's eye. She writes about families, their customs, their secrets, and their tangled intimacies with remarkable acuity and humanity. She explores the complexities of marriage, the importance of friendship, and the challenges of self-invention with unflinching honesty. This is a compelling story of love, loss, and, ultimately, resilience.

©2005 Carole Radziwill (P)2005 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division.

Critic reviews

"Carole Radziwill, a wonderful writer...gets at the essence of what matters: friendship, compassion, destiny." (Oprah Winfrey)
"Carole Radziwill has written an unsparing, unsentimental, and inspiring memoir. A spirited journalist with a novelist's eye for detail, she delivers a stunningly honest story about life's great joys and deepest pain." (Christiane Amanpour)

Absolutely beautiful

The only thing I wanted more was more of Carol speaking of their love. The stories brought me to tears multiple times.

Memorable and heartfelt

i came upon this book shortly after it was written-not ever knowing anything about the author. fast forward through the years to discover her on reality TV. she seems the voice of reason, I'd wonder why she affiliated herself with some of her character challenged colleagues to be on the show. rediscovering the author differently, made me want to revisit this book again. I appreciate it so much more now. she is a thoughtful, funny, and self aware writer who tells her story with much integrity. she shares. her life altering experiences in a way that is so real. it does not ask for the listeners pity or sorrow- it does not become dramatic or maudlin. it simply invites us to listen, have information, and bear witness in what ultimately is quite inspiring. bravo!

Honest; Painful; Loving.

This is one of the better memoirs I have read. Ms Radziwill pays tribute to her deceased husband and best friends without the cloying sentimentality that often occurs when a loved one is dead. She shares her love with an honest view of the flaws of these people. They become more real because of that honesty and it allows the reader to see these iconic humans as normal. We all felt we new JFK, Jr. This book allowed me to discard my prior image of him and see him as a genuine, real man. I believe that Ms Radziwill shared her truth. I hope the writing of the story was as therapeutic for her as it was enlightening for me.

Touching Story.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

This book is a personal insight to the struggle of life, love and loss. Raziwell is precise with her emotions. By the end of this book you feel more like family friend who was present for the situation.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes....bring tissue for the tears

So good, so heartfelt

This story is tragic in so many ways, but is told in a matter-of-fact, yet thoughtful and nostalgic tone. You wonder how anyone can deal with such loss, and the honesty of how Carole Radziwill dealt with it shows bravery in the midst of fear and doubt. And she’s so real about it all. She’s not the “wife of a prince” or she’s just a normal woman dealing with unimaginable loss.

A book of love and loss

Beautifully written by a young woman who begins her life with her husband with such promise. They become close friends with her husband's cousin and his lovely girlfriend,eventually his wife. All really good kind people who have it all. Three of their lives are taken all too soon. It can make you shed a tear or two, but we all know the story. There are many details we did not know.. These people are famous.The book is a wonderful tribute to Carolyn, John and Carol's husband Anthony.

So sad, but not in a sad sack way

Yes, I watched Carol on RHONY and was curious about her book. This book is all about her husband, and their best friends (who happen to be John Kennedy and Carolyn Bissete Kennedy.) There is a big lead up to probably the worst month of her life when they all sadly perished, and you feel a huge swell for sympathy for her loss. The book is written so you lose sight of the fact that they were public figures because its a woman's most intimate companions all yanked at once and the listener feels the anguish. Very sad, but not "poor me" sad, just "these are the facts, we were four best friends."

beautiful

A beautiful story of love and eventual loss. My heart goes out to Carol and all the loved ones of Anthony, John, Carolyn and Lauren.

Beautifully written

What a gift to all of us - thank you Carole for letting us get to know people in a respectful yet touching way - your writing is beautiful

What Remains

I couldn’t have been more pleased that Carole read this herself. She has such a soothing demeanor and I could place her in the scenes. I finished listening in one day.