Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis

This biography offers a groundbreaking psychological portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, focusing specifically on how the trauma of witnessing her husband's assassination shaped her subsequent life and decisions. Barbara Leaming presents a deeply researched narrative that documents Jackie's thirty-one year struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder, reframing her public image through the lens of private suffering. The book provides intimate, often heartbreaking details about her experiences following that horrific day in Dallas, revealing a side of the iconic figure previously unexplored in such depth. This isn't another retelling of Camelot, but a serious examination of how trauma reshapes a life.

What makes this account particularly compelling is its focus on Jackie's resilience and the strategies she developed to cope with her PTSD while maintaining her public composure. Leaming's sensitive approach allows readers to understand Jackie's later life choices—from her marriage to Aristotle Onassis to her career as an editor—as part of a long healing process rather than mere eccentricities of the wealthy. Teen readers and young adults interested in psychology, history, or stories of personal strength will find this perspective both enlightening and deeply moving. The biography ultimately transforms our understanding of an American icon, revealing the profound human cost of very public tragedy.