Touched by the Sun

By: Carly Simon

Narrated by: Elizabeth McGovern

Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

A chance encounter at a summer party on Martha’s Vineyard blossomed into an improbable but enduring friendship. Carly Simon and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis made an unlikely pair - Carly, a free and artistic spirit still reeling from her recent divorce, searching for meaning, new love, and an anchor; and Jackie, one of the most celebrated, meticulous, unknowable women in American history. Nonetheless, over the next decade their lives merged in inextricable and complex ways, and they forged a connection deeper than either could ever have foreseen. The time they spent together - lingering lunches and creative collaborations, nights out on the town and mundane movie dates - brought a welcome lightness and comfort to their days, but their conversations often veered into more profound territory as they helped each other navigate the shifting waters of life lived, publicly, in the wake of great love and great loss.  

An intimate, vulnerable, and insightful portrait of the bond that grew between two iconic and starkly different American women, Carly Simon’s Touched by the Sun is a chronicle, in loving detail, of the late friendship she and Jackie shared. It is a meditation on the ways someone can unexpectedly enter our lives and change its course as well as a celebration of kinship in all its many forms.

©2019 Carly Simon (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Beautifully Written

Elizabeth McGovern is fabulous as the narrator. The writing style was magnificent, and Carly Simon’s wit and personality are the highlight of this book. I’m a fan! If you are wanting details about the life of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and wanting a glimpse into their friendship, this book does seem to fall short. But, beautifully written.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

If You Love Carly....

This is the book for you. More about Carly Simon and her experiences than about JO. Jackie is more the foil to Carly than anything else. I found this book to be a lot more revealing in terms of CS’s inner workings than her previous memoir. Being a huge fan of CS since childhood, I really enjoyed the book as I learned a lot about CS and who she is and how she thinks. I loved it. However, if you’re looking for a book on Jacqueline Onassis, this may not be the one.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Disappointing

Lover her work, but this is less a story of Jackie and more about Carly’s hang ups....

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Beautiful Friendship

At first I thought, I want more Jackie - but then as I continued to read, I fell in love with the friendship between Carly and Jackie; and how Carly was in someways like a foil of Jackie, a bit more wild and bohemian- but how those differences brought them together. It was also nice to hear about their similarities as well- their love for the Vineyard, literature, and Mike Nichols. I love this glimpse into their lives together and of the better understanding I have of Jackie. Carly truly paid her a wonderful tribute here.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Not fulfilling

Too much name dropping and not enough depth. I wouldn’t recommend unless you’re really bored.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Intriguing friendship

I really enjoyed the story, but so wish Carly had read it herself. Elizabeth McGovern was good, but I kept imagining her instead of Carly. What a beautiful gift Carly & Jackie shared.

Beautiful

Tribute to Jackie in her late life.
The poems and songs are beautiful and heart felt.

A Truly Good Listen.

Enjoyed this audiobook tremendously. It’s not a salacious tell-all — it’s a deeply personal tribute and account of a friendship. It made someone mythical in our minds, very human. Every word chosen with great thoughtfulness and care. This was a tribute.

Thank you Carly

I was cautious about ordering this book afraid that it would be just another person claiming to know Jacqueline Onassis. This is a beautiful and wonderful sharing of a special friendship . A brief glance into a world that few of us will ever experience. The writing interdispersed with poetry and references to the vast knowledge each woman contributed to the friendsh anything from quoting Greek gods to a simple song verse. Thank you

Thanks for sharing Carly!

I enjoyed Carly last book “Boys In The Trees” and love how she expresses herself through her writing. My only disappointment was that she didn’t read the audio book because I enjoy listening to her voice. Elizabeth McGoveren was a good replacement and enjoyed her interpretations. Thanks to Carly Simon for sharing your story with the rest us!!!