Jackie O: On the Couch: Inside the Mind and Life of Jackie Kennedy Onassis [Hardcover]

Alma H. Bond (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 15, 2011 | Series: On the Couch

Jackie O: On the Couch is the story of Jackie Kennedy Onassis as she might have written it.

This is not just another biography. For the first time, Jackie O: On the Couch highlights Jackie's life from her own perspective, as imagined by author Dr. Alma Bond, a psychoanalyst and long-time student of Jackie lore.

The facts are all historically correct, as are the ideas, the Washington intrigue and politics, and the examination of the role of women in society and in the White House. Jackie speaks of her need to record her story truthfully--to replace the hodgepodge of lies published during her lifetime. Speaking as an older woman, she ponders how her points of view have changed from those she held when she was young.

The book delves into her childhood and explores how and why Jackie became the person she was. It also explores the Kennedys, and how John F. Kennedy's background affected his marriage. Jackie's deep love for Jack, his early inattentiveness, their difficulties together, his outrageous womanizing, happy times at the White House, and the tragedy of his assassination-all are viewed through Jackie's eyes.

Jackie writes of her need for Aristotle Onassis, debunking the notion that she married him purely for his money, and traces the joyful early years of the marriage through to its dramatic collapse and Ari's difficult death.

A different Jackie emerges into the world of publishing. Her new persona allows her to establish her very best relationship with the stout and adoring Maurice Tempelsman, until non-Hodgkins lymphoma takes her life in 1994, at age 64.

Jackie O: On the Couch is a unique exploration of the life and loves of a great historical figure. Jackie Kennedy Onassis deeply prized her privacy and, as a result, she was both revered and mysterious. In this book, much of the mystery is shed as Jackie finally emerges as a fully fleshed-out, three-dimensional person-a true human being, with enormous strengths and shortcomings, who all of us can now understand and appreciate, perhaps for the first time.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book is brilliant and fascinating. I am in awe of Dr. Bond's ability to paint so layered, and so riveting, a profile. The fact that it is written in the first person provides the reader an intimacy and understanding that no normal third-person biography could ever accomplish. --Dr. Abe Bortz, co-editor of the Book of the Month Club and History Book Club Selection Live by the Sword: The Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK and co-author, The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Germany

About the Author

Jackie O: On the Couch is the first of Alma Bond's ''On the Couch'' series, and is Dr. Bond's nineteenth published book. She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University, graduated from the post-doctoral program in psychoanalysis at the Freudian Society, and was a psychoanalyst in private practice for thirty-seven years in New York City. She ''retired'' to become a full-time writer, but now maintains a small practice in addition to writing. Her last book, Margaret Mahler, a Biography of the Psychoanalyst, received two awards: Best Books Award Finalist, USA Book News; and Foreword Magazine s Book of the Year Finalist.

Her Maria Callas book, The Autobiography of Maria Callas: A Novel, was first runner-up in the Hemingway Days novel contest.

Her sixteen other published books include: Camille Claude: A Novel; Old Age is a Terminal Illness; Who Killed Virginia Woolf?: A Psychobiography; Tales of Psychology: Short Stories to Make You Wise; I Married Dr. Jekyll and Woke Up Mrs. Hyde; Is There Life After Analysis?; On Becoming a Grandparent; America's First Woman Warrior: The Story of Deborah Sampson (with Lucy Freeman); and a children's book, The Tree That Could Fly.

She presently has another book in production, Michelle Obama: A Biography.

Dr. Bond also wrote the play, Maria, about the life and loves of Maria Callas, which was produced off-off Broadway and is currently touring Florida.

Dr. Bond is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Dramatists Guild, and the Authors Guild, as well as a fellow and faculty member of the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, the International Psychoanalytic Association, and the American Psychological Association.

Dr. Bond is the widow of Rudy Bond, the acclaimed stage, screen, and television actor, and author of I Rode a Streetcar Named Desire. She is the mother of three children, Zane P. Bond, Jonathan H. Bond, and Janet Bond Brill, all of whom are published authors, and she is the proud grandmother of eight, none of whom has published a book . . . yet. But, as a wise friend of Alma's put it, ''In her family, it's pretty much publish or perish.''

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Bancroft Press; First edition (August 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1610880218
• ISBN-13: 978-1610880213
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #317,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Alma H. Bond, PhD, is a psychoanalyst and the author of 19 published books. She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University, graduated from the post-doctoral program in psychoanalysis at the Freudian Society, and was a psychoanalyst in private practice for thirty-seven years in New York City. She "retired" to become a full-time writer, but now maintains a small practice in addition to writing. Her last book, Margaret Mahler, a Biography of the Psychoanalyst, received two awards: Best Books Award Finalist, USA Book News; and Foreword Magazine s Book of the Year Finalist.Her Maria Callas book, The Autobiography of Maria Callas: A Novel, was first runner-up in the Hemingway Days novel contest.

Her sixteen other published books include: Camille Claude: A Novel; Old Age is a Terminal Illness; Who Killed Virginia Woolf?: A Psychobiography; Tales of Psychology: Short Stories to Make You Wise; I Married Dr. Jekyll and Woke Up Mrs. Hyde; Is There Life After Analysis?; On Becoming a Grandparent; America's First Woman Warrior: The Story of Deborah Sampson (with Lucy Freeman); and a children's book, The Tree That Could Fly.

Dr. Bond also wrote the play, Maria, about the life and loves of Maria Callas, which was produced off-off Broadway and is currently touring Florida.

Dr. Bond is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Dramatists Guild, and the Authors Guild, as well as a fellow and faculty member of the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, the International Psychoanalytic Association, and the American Psychological Association.

Dr. Bond is the widow of Rudy Bond, the acclaimed stage, screen, and television actor, and author of I Rode a Streetcar Named Desire. She is the mother of three children, Zane P. Bond, Jonathan H. Bond, and Janet Bond Brill, all of whom are published authors, and she is the proud grandmother of eight, none of whom has published a book . . . yet. But, as a wise friend of Alma's put it, "In her family, it's pretty much publish or perish."

For more information, Alma Bond's website: alma_bond.tripod.com/

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 89 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars avoid this book August 22, 2011

By Jane B. Wypiszynski

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The cover tells us the information inside is historically correct. This book is so far from correct I am amazed anyone with any knowledge of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis could have edited it. The author actually claims that JFK's childhood was marred by his birth order as the family's third child, and wonders why no one has ever looked at the fact he was ignored because he was born just a year after his "retarded" sister Rosemary. Seriously? JFK was the SECOND child in the family...a fact documented in literally hundreds of biographies of him. The author gets dates wrong (the death of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy was August 9, 1963, not August 7). She uses quotations which have been previously documented in other publications, but attributes them to the wrong people. Factually, the book is a mess.
Just as concerning is the fact that this author writes in the first person, which might have been an interesting and maybe even novel way of analyzing Mrs Onassis. But she has no clue as to Jackie's voice. There are so many historical videos and documents which show her language skills and style. The author even mentions that Mrs Onassis was very concerned with words and their use. But the book is written in a pedantic, sophomoric style which does not reflect Jackie's noted love of language (at her funeral her son spoke of how it was one of the things used to guide choices for the services).
I have studied Mrs Onassis for over forty years, and am used to the fiction which gets glorified as truth about her. This book is a horrible example of someone who did not do the research but is adding to what Mrs Onassis called the "river of sludge" about her. I highly recommend no one buy it. I fully regret I did.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not to be Avoided August 27, 2011

By Clara

Format:Hardcover

In this fascinating psycho-biography, Dr. Alma H. Bond takes us into the eloquent and complex mind of the unforgettable Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. A much-remembered fashion icon throughout the 1960s, and famously reticent first lady of the assassinated president, John F. Kennedy, she is finally made available to readers. Exploring Onassis's lavish but demanding upbringing, two marriages, and one final relationship, Bond proves that this mysterious woman's voice is worth listening to. In addition, the book demonstrates how this glamorous but grieving widow deserves the appreciation and respect she did not always receive during her lifetime. Written in the first-person, Jackie O: On the Couch demonstrates convincingly what Onassis's voice would have been like had she actually written an autobiography. The reader discovers how this woman distinguished herself as a dedicated wife and mother, and later, as a hard-working and devoted book editor. Onassis lived through some of the most important times of history and attempted to pick up the pieces of her life after frequent mourning, and sometimes frequent media criticism. Fleshed out beautifully through descriptions and sentiments, this alluring icon's identity is, ultimately, fully and finally unveiled to readers in a gem of a book that many readers the world over will find irresistible."

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Jackie O: On the Couch August 26, 2011

By Softballfirst

Format:Hardcover

Informative, historical, fascinating!!!! Learning about Jackie Kennedy from her point of view was enlightening. I have always been fascinated by their very public life and the tragedy that befell such a young women. How she acted kept a country together and tongues wagging for years.
I learned from her what the assassination of her husband did to her, her family and her choices later in life.
There are many facts that I didn't know and found them answering questions that I had. A very well written bio that had me laughing, crying, and seeing a time in history from a different point of view.
Jackie O: On the Couch: Inside the Mind and Life of Jackie Kennedy Onassis