Touched by the Sun: My Friendship with Jackie

Last updated
Touched by the Sun: My Friendship with Jackie
Touched by the Sun - My Friendship with Jackie.jpg
Author Carly Simon
Genre Memoir
Publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date
October 22, 2019
Pages256
ISBN 978-0374277727

Touched by the Sun: My Friendship with Jackie is a memoir by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon.

Contents

Publication

Touched by the Sun: My Friendship with Jackie was published on October 22, 2019 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. [1] The book is titled after Simon's song "Touched by the Sun", which was written for Onassis, and originally appeared on her 1994 album Letters Never Sent . As a tie-in to the books release, Simon released a newly mixed live version of "Touched by the Sun" from her 1995 concert special Live at Grand Central as a single. [2]

Content

The book recounts Simon's friendship with former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The publisher described the book as "an intimate, vulnerable, and insightful portrait of the bond that grew between two iconic and starkly different American women." [3] The pair met at summer party in Martha's Vineyard in the early 80's. Onassis later served as Simon's book editor on a number of her children's books in the late 80's and early 90's. [4]

On her official website, Simon stated: "When I first met Jackie, I didn’t imagine we had that much in common much less expect her to become my book editor, confidant, protective mother figure, and mischievous pal. She arrived when I least expected to make a new friend and she stayed up until the time of her death. I’ve missed her deeply and am reminded of her every day. In the last few years, I found myself doing what I’ve done with all the other things in my life that were too big to look at directly and too important to understand fully as they were happening: I put it down on paper. I found that writing about our time together was the only way to begin to know what she meant to me. Publicly, Jackie was important to all of us, but privately, out of the public eye, I loved her. I wanted to share my experience of her." [2]

Reception

The book made the New York Times best seller list, and was selected by People as one of the top 10 books of 2019. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis</span> First Lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963

Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular first lady, she endeared the American public with her devotion to her family, dedication to the historic preservation of the White House, the campaigns she led to preserve and restore historic landmarks and architecture along with her interest in American history, culture and arts. During her lifetime, she was regarded as an international icon for her unique fashion choices, and her work as a cultural ambassador of the United States made her very popular globally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John F. Kennedy Jr.</span> American publisher, son of President JFK

John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr., often referred to as John-John or JFK Jr., was an American attorney, journalist, and magazine publisher. He was a son of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and a younger brother of U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy. Three days after his father was assassinated, he rendered a final salute during the funeral procession on his third birthday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carly Simon</span> American musician (born 1943)

Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American musician, singer, songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), "The Right Thing to Do" (No. 17), "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" (No. 14), "You Belong to Me" (No. 6), "Coming Around Again" (No. 18), and her four Gold-certified singles "You're So Vain" (No. 1), "Mockingbird", "Nobody Does It Better" (No. 2) from the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, and "Jesse" (No. 11). She has authored two memoirs and five children's books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitty Kelley</span> Author of unauthorized biographies

Katherine Kelley is an American journalist and author of best-selling unauthorized biographies of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, the British royal family, the Bush family, and Oprah Winfrey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caroline Kennedy</span> American author and diplomat (born 1957)

Caroline Bouvier Kennedy is an American author, attorney, and diplomat serving as the United States Ambassador to Australia since 2022. Kennedy previously served in the Obama administration as the United States ambassador to Japan from 2013 to 2017. She is a member of the Kennedy family and the only surviving child of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States and former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janet Lee Bouvier</span> American socialite

Janet Norton Lee Auchincloss, previously Bouvier, was an American socialite. She was the mother of the former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Lee Radziwill.

<i>I Am Curious (Yellow)</i> 1967 Swedish erotic drama film by Vilgot Sjöman

I Am Curious (Yellow) (Swedish: Jag är nyfiken – en film i gult, meaning "I Am Curious: A Film in Yellow") is a 1967 Swedish erotic drama film written and directed by Vilgot Sjöman, starring Sjöman and Lena Nyman. It is a companion film to 1968's I Am Curious (Blue); the two were initially intended to be one 3+12 hour film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Vernou Bouvier III</span> American socialite and Wall Street stockbroker

John Vernou "Black Jack" Bouvier III was an American Wall Street stockbroker and socialite. He was the father of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and of socialite Princess Lee Radziwill, and was the father-in-law of John F. Kennedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carly Simon discography</span>

The discography of Carly Simon, an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author, consists of 23 studio albums, two live albums, 10 compilation albums, four soundtrack albums, two audiobooks, and 41 singles, on Elektra Records, Warner Bros. Records, Epic Records, Arista Records, Rhino Entertainment, Columbia Records, Hear Music, and Iris Records, with special releases on Qwest Records, Angel Records, Walt Disney Records, and Macmillan Audio. These lists include all live and studio albums, and the motion picture soundtracks list includes albums containing more than 50% of music by Simon.

A major American icon, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis has been portrayed, alluded to, and referred to in many media in the popular culture from the 1960s and continuing into the 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy</span> American publicist and wife of John F. Kennedy Jr

Carolyn Jeanne Bessette-Kennedy was an American publicist for Calvin Klein. After her marriage to John F. Kennedy Jr., Bessette-Kennedy's relationship with her husband and her fashion sense became the subjects of media scrutiny, drawing comparisons to her mother-in-law Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The couple, as well as Bessette-Kennedy's older sister, Lauren, died in a plane crash off the coast of Martha's Vineyard on July 16, 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie Cruz</span> American entertainer

Jackie Cruz is a Dominican–American actress, singer and former model. She is known for her role as Marisol "Flaca" Gonzales on the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black.

Rose Kennedy Schlossberg is an American actress, the oldest child of Caroline Kennedy, and first-born grandchild of John F. Kennedy. She is a 2010 graduate of Harvard University. Schlossberg has been described as a look-alike of her maternal grandmother, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. In 2016, Schlossberg, along with Mara Nelson-Greenberg, co-launched End Time Girls Club, an end time-apocalyptic web series on YouTube.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy Tuckerman</span>

Nancy Ludlow Tuckerman was the White House Social Secretary during the Kennedy administration. After the Kennedy assassination, she remained the personal secretary to Jackie Kennedy until the latter's death in 1994.

John Randall Anthony Taraborrelli is an American journalist and celebrity biographer. Prior to his book-writing career, he was a magazine journalist and editor-in-chief of Soul magazine, the black entertainment title. Taraborrelli is known for biographies of contemporary entertainers and political figures such as Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Madonna, the Kennedy family, the Hilton family, and Beyoncé. He also regularly appears on television as an entertainment news reporter on programs such as Entertainment Tonight, Good Morning America, Today and CBS This Morning. Taraborrelli lives in California.

Lisa Drew is a retired editor who held top editorial positions at Doubleday, William Morrow and Company, and Scribner. Drew was an editor for Pulitzer Prize-winning Roots: The Saga of an American Family as well as numerous books by the Bush family. Other notable authors she edited include Helen Thomas, Nathan Miller, John E. Douglas, Bruce Henderson, Christine Brennan, and Geraldine Ferraro. At Scribner, Drew created her own imprint, A Lisa Drew Book.

My Life with Jacqueline Kennedy is a 1969 memoir by Mary Barelli Gallagher, ghostwritten by Frances Spatz Leighton. Gallagher worked as a secretary for John F. Kennedy during his first term as Senator for Massachusetts, for Janet Norton Lee Auchincloss, and for First Lady of the United States Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis before and during the Presidency of John F. Kennedy. The memoir was generally negatively critically received.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frances Spatz Leighton</span> American author

Frances Spatz Leighton was an American author, ghostwriter, and journalist. She ghostwrote several memoirs and accounts of Washington D. C. life, writing over 30 books, including My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House (1961) and My Life with Jacqueline Kennedy (1969). She was born in Ohio and attended Ohio State University, but did not graduate. Leighton soon moved to Washington, D.C., where she worked as a journalist for several publications, including The American Weekly. She ghostwrote her first memoir in 1957, of a chef for the President of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacqueline Kennedy's 1962 goodwill tour of India and Pakistan</span>

Jacqueline Kennedy took a goodwill tour of India and Pakistan in 1962. While the media gave widespread coverage on her fashion style, she functioned as an informal diplomat and developed her interest in arts and architecture, returning to India in later years to co-produce a book on Indian artwork.

<i>Carly Simon: Live at Grand Central</i> 1995 concert special by Carly Simon

Carly Simon: Live at Grand Central is a 1995 concert special that aired on Lifetime Television. Performed in the middle of New York City's Grand Central Terminal, the surprise concert was a prelude to Simon's first concert tour in 14 years. It featured Simon and a live band performing the majority of her Letters Never Sent album, as well as some of her hits such as "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be", "Anticipation", "Legend in Your Own Time", "Haven't Got Time for the Pain", "Jesse", "Coming Around Again", and "Let the River Run". It was directed by English music video and film director Nigel Dick.

References

  1. Simon, Carly (October 22, 2019). Touched by the Sun: My Friendship with Jackie. ISBN   978-0374277727.
  2. 1 2 "Touched by the Sun". Carlysimon.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  3. Carlson, Adam (April 15, 2019). "Carly Simon writing Jackie Kennedy friendship memoir". People . Archived from the original on April 11, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  4. Chilton, Charlotte (April 16, 2019). "Jacqueline Kennedy Will Be Featured in Carly Simon's Upcoming Memoir". Town & Country . Archived from the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  5. "The 10 Best Books of 2019". People . Archived from the original on December 16, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2022.