Touched by the Sun

by Carly Simon

First published 2019

Carly Simon opens her memoir at a Martha's Vineyard summer party where she first met Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The singer was navigating life after divorce, while Jackie remained one of America's most scrutinized public figures. Despite their different worlds, the two women built an unexpected bond over the following ten years. Simon describes their shared lunches, creative projects, evenings out, and movie nights that brought joy to both their lives. Their conversations moved beyond surface pleasures as they supported each other through the challenges of living under public attention while processing love and loss. Simon reveals how Jackie unexpectedly entered her life and altered its direction. The memoir captures the intimate details of their unlikely connection and explores how meaningful relationships can develop between vastly different people. Simon presents their friendship as both a personal chronicle and a broader reflection on human connection.

Genres: friendship, contemporary, memoir, relationships, non-fiction, biography-memoir

Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking

Tropes: found-family, unlikely-friendship

Setting: Martha's Vineyard

Period: 20th-century

256 pages · Hardcover · Farrar, Straus and Giroux

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