RoseMarie Terenzio and Liz McNeil on What John F. Kennedy Jr. Was Really Like, As Told By So Many People That Knew Him Personally

What an episode we have for you listeners today as we conclude our JFK Jr. series. Today, July 16, officially marks 25 years since the plane crash that took the lives of John, Carolyn, and Lauren, and on the show today we have RoseMarie Terenzio and Liz McNeil, who have written the absolutely brilliant new book JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography, which is out today. RoseMarie also wrote the memoir Fairytale Interrupted: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss, which came out in 2012; we talk about Fairytale Interrupted on the show today, too. Rose and Liz’s new book, the oral biography, is one of the best books I have ever read—full stop. And not just about the Kennedys, but period. It is so rich with detail, honesty, transparency, courage, new information—even someone like me, who has read every book on the Kennedys I can get my hands on, learned so much in this read. So many people you expect to be interviewed are interviewed, but then there’s the unexpected barrage of celebrities, with everyone from Brooke Shields to Julia Roberts, Mike Tyson, Whoopi Goldberg, Carly Simon, President Bill Clinton, Wyclef Jean, Demi Moore, and Drew Barrymore making appearances. There is so much good here—I could not put it down. It is a full, robust portrayal of a life—John’s life. Rose was John’s assistant for five years and had an incredibly unique relationship with him—she was his personal assistant, which she writes in Fairytale Interrupted was the best job she ever had. They had such a fun dynamic—full of brother/sister teasing. Of Carolyn, though she was presented in the press as an ice queen, Rose speaks of her as this warm, generous woman, loyal, loving, kind. Rose had a front row seat to the creation and launch of his magazine, George, and was also deeply involved in John and Carolyn’s top-secret wedding planning. Rose was one of the first people to learn that John, Carolyn, and Lauren were missing, right behind Carole Radziwill, who we interviewed last week. This book is perfect to conclude our series on JFK Jr. and to honor John, Carolyn, and Lauren on this anniversary of their death. It’s told in one of my absolute favorite formats—the oral history—and I can’t wait for you to hear this conversation with Rose and Liz, who is an editor-at-large at People magazine, where she has worked for the last 30 years. These days, Rose is a strategic communications professional and also executive produced Paramount Network’s I Am JFK Jr. I can’t wait for you to hear from them both.

JFK Jr: An Intimate Oral Biography by RoseMarie Terenzio and Liz McNeil

Fairytale Interrupted: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss by RoseMarie Terenzio