Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: The Untold Story by Barbara Leaming

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Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: The Untold Story by Barbara Leaming



                “Do you want to hear?” That was the statement Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy said many times after the assassination of her husband John F. Kennedy, before she would recount the details of the shooting. The details regarding her blood stained clothing, the moment she saw the bullet strike, the feeling of not wanting to leave his side would all be relayed back to the person answering that question as she constantly relived that fateful moment on November 22, 1963. But what is there to know of the woman before she married the man who would be present? In this biography Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: The Untold Story Leaming details the life of Jacqueline Bouvier in the years before she considered being a wife during a time when she rallied against entering into a predictable marriage. Leaming details Jackie’s decision to pursue Jack and the political decisions behind his marrying Jackie. We also learn of how Jackie suffered from what we can now describe as PTSD after Jack’s death and what drove her to marry Aristotle Onassis. This biography was an examination of Jacqueline’s life, how the public perceived her and how she dealt with living after such a horrendous tragedy.
                I’ve always been fascinated by Jackie Kennedy or as I’ve heard many people refer to her as Jackie O. I was excited to finally get my hand on what I assumed would be an amazing biography about a woman who led quite an interesting and well publicized life. I did not expect to read so vividly about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I did not expect to read of Jackie’s depression, thoughts of suicide and bouts of post-traumatic stress disorder. I also didn’t expect to see so blandly all of the harsh criticism she received during what was obviously a time of morning. I don’t know how I would have dealt with recovering from watching my husband being shot and subsequently holding his head and brains in my lap while praying he survives. I could never wrap my head around what life must have been like moving forward without reading a biography that put so much in the forefront the suffering Jackie suffered.

                I’m giving this biography 3.5 out of 5 stars, because I am not sure how I feel about this author’s style. While this is a well-researched novel that takes into account all of the aspects surrounding politics, and society at that time, it is also full of Barbara Leaming’s bias. From the very beginning of this biography I felt like Barbara Leaming had some bias against Jackie that pervaded for me throughout the entire book. It was less evident after John Kennedy’s assassination but still evident. I am realizing that I prefer my biographies to be slated in fact with as little personal opinion as possible and this was not that type of biography. It did leave me fascinated and informed but it also left me wanting to read another biography of Jackie Kennedy Onassis written by a different author. 

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