by Kathy McKeon
First published 2017
Kathy McKeon opens her memoir with her arrival from Ireland in 1964, a nineteen-year-old who becomes Jackie Kennedy's personal assistant. McKeon describes her unique position within the Kennedy household, where she helps raise Caroline and John Jr. while witnessing major historical moments. Rose Kennedy calls her "Jackie's girl" because of her constant presence at the former first lady's side. McKeon reveals how Jackie mentored her in American customs and social graces, even as their employer-employee relationship evolved into something resembling sisterhood. The author recounts supporting Jackie through Aristotle Onassis's courtship and marriage, and through the trauma of Robert Kennedy's assassination. McKeon shows how she navigated her own identity as a young immigrant while serving one of America's most watched women. The memoir captures both Jackie's private moments and McKeon's personal growth in a foreign country.
Genres: family-life, historical-fiction, autobiography, memoir, non-fiction, biography-memoir
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Ireland, United States
Period: 1964, 20th-century
320 pages · Hardcover · Gallery Books