Imprint
- Headline Review
Memoirs, Family psychology
A stunning, award-winning memoir about a family's grief and healing after the death of their father, from the acclaimed author of THE ONE-IN-A-MILLION BOY.
WHEN WE WERE THE KENNEDYS is a brilliant, award-winning memoir about the death of a father and the healing of a family, by Monica Wood, the acclaimed author of THE ONE-IN-A-MILLION BOY. Perfect for those who loved Cathy Rentzenbrink's THE LAST ACT OF LOVE or Helen Macdonald's H IS FOR HAWK.
'It's a pleasure to linger with her elegant prose, keen eye and grace of thought' Reader's Digest
'Intimate but expansive ... A tender memoir of a very different time' O, the Oprah Magazine
1963. The Wood family is much like their neighbours, all dependent on the fathers' wages from the local mill. But when Dad suddenly dies on his way to work one April morning, Mum and the four deeply connected Wood daughters are set adrift.
And then, come November - the family still overwhelmed by grief, the country shocked by the assassination of President Kennedy - Mum announces an unprecedented family road trip. Inspired by the televised grace of Jackie Kennedy, herself a new widow with young children, Mum and her girls head to Washington, DC, to do some rescuing of their own.
WHEN WE WERE THE KENNEDYS is a funny, moving and imaginative memoir about how one family and one country, each shocked by the unimaginable, find the strength to move on.
What readers are saying about WHEN WE WERE THE KENNEDYS:
'A beautifully written, thought-provoking book'
'Filled with great love - of family, friends and the ability to bounce back even with many setbacks. Wood's words are so beautiful they literally lift off the pages'
'Compelling, profound, beautiful'
Praise for When We Were the Kennedys: A moving family memoir of love, loss and strength
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In her intimate but expansive memoir, Monica Wood explores not only her family's grief but also the national end of innocence. Braiding her own story of mourning together with the heartbreak all around her, Wood has written a tender memoir of a very different time - O Magazine
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It's a pleasure to linger with her elegant prose, keen eye, and grace of thought - Reader s Digest
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Wood's gorgeously wrought new book...is a sharp, stunning portrait of a family's grief and healing, and it also offers a refreshing lens through which to view the JFK tragedy, as his family's loss helps the Woods feel less adrift in their own sea of anguish - The Washingtonian
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A tender, plaintive...genuinely compelling depiction of family grief...a bittersweet, end-of-innocence family drama - Kirkus
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Clever, intricate plot, beautifully sketched characters and life-affirming message of self-discovery - Stylist
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Praise for THE ONE-IN-A-MILLION BOY: 'Beautifully written, cleverly constructed, at times hilariously funny and ultimately deeply affecting - this should be a smash' - Sunday Mirror
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A lovely, quirky novel about misfits across generations - Daily Mail
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A beguiling, heart-wrenching and funny book... Absolutely gorgeous - Psychologies magazine
Monica Wood
Monica Wood is an award-winning, bestselling novelist and memoirist. Born in Maine, New England, to an Irish Catholic family, she worked as a guidance counsellor and in a nursing home before becoming a full-time writer. She is also a singer, and travelled the New England circuit singing jazz, country, pop and gospel for many years. She lives in Maine with her husband.
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