Come To The Edge by Christina Haag - Christina was John F. Kennedy's girlfriend for 5 years when they were in their 20s. She writes about their relationship, and gives an insight to what he was like (adventuresome, physical, happy, confident, loving, thoughtful) and how they got along. She was accepted by his family, having gone to school with him for years, and there must be something open and sweet about her that comes through when you know her. She's an actress, and she shields her reader from other personal information about herself, which makes this an interesting read on a whole other level.
American Girl by Mary Cantwell - When I was reading Glamour and Mademoiselle magazines in my mid teens to mid twenties, I'd read a column in Mademoiselle by Mary Cantwell, who would write about food and thoughts, and usually include a recipe. I didn't know anything about her, just that her writing appealed to me. Then recently, while reading What Remains, Carole Radziwill mentioned that there was a wonderful book called Manhattan, When I was Young by Mary Cantwell. A library search revealed that Mary Cantwell had written 4 books, 3 of them memoirs. American Girl is the first of those memoirs, about her life growing up in a close-knit quirky family in Bristol, Rhode Island. Her family, the town, the shops, the churches, the harbor, her house, her friends, the roads, her schools...all made an impression on Mary Lee, and those memories, constantly swirling around in her head, made her herself. Since I am so much like this, I got it, and loved it, and have the other three books ready to go.Manhattan, When I Was Young by Mary Cantwell - Mary's father died when
she was 20. He had been a great presence in her life, a rock, and someone from whom she'd take guidance. Then she met the man who was to be her husband, and he willingly took over the role. They graduated from college, married, got jobs in the city, and moved to Greenwich Village. Mary writes a lot about what it was like to work at Mademoiselle in the 1950s and 60s, and what it was like to be a young working wife and mother. Somehow, as honest as she is, there is still something missing, more details that I want to know about what it was like then. Mary lets you wonder, because she is so open, and you know that if you asked her, she'd tell you. There is just so much to know!
1 comment:
Christina Haag has written an achingly beautiful memoir. Her respectful portrait of John Kennedy not only reveals him as a flesh-and-blood human being but at the same time captures the larger-than-life aspects of his story. Christina tells of how their paths wove themselves together and apart during their childhoods in New York and beyond, culminating in an intense, five year love affair -- what John called the longest courtship ever. Also of great interest is Christina's portrait of John's mother, whom she obviously admired and adored. Their friendship continued even after the affair with John was over. But this book is more than all that. It is a delicate tale of coming of age, of first love, that transcends its connection to a famous family
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