Overview

The untold story of how one woman's life was changed forever in a matter of seconds by a horrific trauma. Barbara Leaming's extraordinary and deeply sensitive biography is the first book to document Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' brutal, lonely and valiant thirty-one year struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that followed JFK's assassination. Here is the woman as she has never been seen before. In heartrending detail, we witness a struggle that unfolded at times before our own eyes, but which we failed to understand. Leaming's biography also makes clear the pattern of Jackie's life as a whole. We see how a spirited young woman's rejection of a predictable life led her to John F. Kennedy and the White House, how she sought to reconcile the conflicts of her marriage and the role she was to play, and how the trauma of her husband's murder which left her soaked in his blood and brains led her to seek a very different kind of life from the one she'd previously sought. A life story that has been scrutinized countless times, seen here for the first time as the serious and important story that it is. A story for our times at a moment when we as a nation need more than ever to understand the impact of trauma.

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9781427252326

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Provocative.... Recast in this light, Jackie's post-1963 actions make a new kind of sense.... With a diagnosis of PTSD in mind, incidents once criticized as selfish or at least self-indulgent can be reassessed. USA Today An intimate and revealing look at one of the 20th century's most remarkable--and misunderstood--women. Kirkus Reviews Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis provides suggestive evidence that her subject suffered from the clinical symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, including flashbacks, insomnia, numbness, avoidance, fear, depression, and anger. ... Her documentation -- which includes Jackie's remarks to intimates, as well as her behavior -- is compelling. Interpreting the post-assassination life through the lens of PTSD turns out to be a fruitful way of making sense of Jackie's sometimes odd-seeming choices. The Boston Globe Barbara Leaming offers a startling and fascinating look at Jackie's life. ... Sensitive and stylish, intimate and insightful.... At once harrowing and humane, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis stands as a deeply moving narrative. Richmond Times-Dispatch Both refreshing and uniquely insightful. Maclean's Successfully provides a fresh perspective on the widow of assassinated U.S. president John F. Kennedy....Award-winning biographer Barbara Leaming's take on Kennedy Onassis is well-written and thoroughly researched. ... Leaming's new biography brings her back to life in an important new light. Winnipeg Free Press Barbara Leaming makes a strong argument, based on original research, that Jackie suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at a time before the condition had been diagnosed. Bookpage

Author Information

BARBARA LEAMING is a New York Times bestselling author. Three of her biographies have been New York Times Notable Books of the Year. Her recent book, Churchill Defiant, received the Emery Reves Award from the International Churchill Centre. Leaming's articles have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, the Times of London, and other publications. She lives in Connecticut.

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