Fairy Tale Interrupted
A Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss
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4.2 • 903 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Working Girl meets What Remains in this New York Times bestselling, behind-the-scenes story of an unlikely friendship between America’s favorite First Son, John F. Kennedy Jr. and his personal assistant, a blue-collar girl from the Bronx. Featured in the documentary I Am JFK Jr.!
From the moment RoseMarie Terenzio unleashed her Italian temper on the entitled nuisance commandeering her office in a downtown New York PR firm, an unlikely friendship bloomed between the blue-collar girl from the Bronx and John F. Kennedy Jr.
Many books have sought to capture John F. Kennedy Jr.’s life. None has been as intimate or as honest as Fairy Tale Interrupted. Recalling the adventure of working as his executive assistant for five years, RoseMarie portrays the man behind the icon—patient, protective, surprisingly goofy, occasionally thoughtless and self-involved, yet capable of extraordinary generosity and kindness. She reveals how he dealt with dating, politics, and the paparazzi, and describes life behind the scenes at George magazine. Captured here are her memories of Carolyn Bessette, how she orchestrated the ultra-secretive planning of John and Carolyn’s wedding on Cumberland Island—and the heartbreak of their deaths on July 16, 1999, after which RoseMarie’s whole world came crashing down around her. Only now does she feel she can tell her story in a book that stands as “a fitting personal tribute to a unique boss . . . deliriously fun and entertaining” (Kirkus Reviews).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Talking back to John F. Kennedy Jr. was not anything Rose-Marie Terenzio, a girl from the Bronx, ever imagined herself doing. Nevertheless, this is how her relationship with Kennedy began. And in this candid memoir, Terenzio discusses the professional and personal role she played in the lives of JFK Jr. and his wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. Wanting relief from the economic stress of her childhood, Terenzio felt lucky when she landed a job as a junior-level publicist with an upscale Manhattan public relations firm; then Kennedy moved into the same office. When Kennedy left to start a magazine, Terenzio became his personal assistant. In September 1995, Kennedy launched the political magazine, George. Terenzio writes, "I hadn't even turned thirty yet, and I was working with JFK Jr. at the most intriguing magazine in the country, in what seemed like the absolute center of the universe." Terenzio deftly reconstructs the wonderfully addictive yet strange and high-pressure world in which she worked and that the young couple navigated daily. Terenzio's captivating story, told with style and grace, chronicles her time with Kennedy within the glorious but often brutal bubble that encircled his world, and what he taught her about living.
Customer Reviews
Great read
Love love loved this book!
Fairy tale interrupted- well said
True to her feelings and am honest woman who knows her limitations and knows what she's worth. Rock on Rosie. You make us admins wanna work harder.
Who knew...
John Kennedy was such a complex yet kind person? Who knew his wife, Carolyn, was such a generous soul? Well, Rosemarie did... and she has written a fascinating memoir detailing the life and lives they shared.