What remains: A memoir of fate friendship and love
Carole Radziwill

On Friday, July 16 1999, a small plane piloted by John F Kennedy Jr and carrying his wife, Carolyn Bessette and her sister Lauren, plummeted into the Atlantic Ocean.

It was another tragic event to befall members of the Kennedy family and the world's media went into a frenzy.

It was Carole Radziwill who reported the plane missing and she begins her memoir with a description of that fateful night - to her credit though, Carole resists the urge to wallow in the sensationalism of life as part of the iconic Kennedy family.

What Remains details the struggles with illness and Carole's role in 'managing it'.

Carole explores the complexities of marriage and the importance of friendship with unflinching honesty. She describes how cancer became the third party in her marriage and how she briefly flirted with infidelity.

Small, personal scenes are described beautifully. John shows up at the hospital to comfort his closest friend by softly singing a childhood song to Anthony.

Critics could argue Carole is providing titillating titbits to the 'tragedy whores' she says she despises. But this vivid and honest memoir is a tribute to the author, who refuses to submit to sentimentality, and a testimony to the resilience of the human spirit. Susan Griffith