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What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter, and Me [Hardcover]

Rielle Hunter
2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (202 customer reviews)

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Book Description

June 22, 2012
The John Edwards–Rielle Hunter affair made headlines for years. “One of the biggest political scandals of all time,” “a fall from grace,” “a modern-day tragedy”—it’s a story that has been reported, distorted, and spun over and over again by the media, by political aides, by the U.S. government, by supposed friends. However, there is someone who actually knows the truth, someone who lived it from day one—the woman at the heart of the story itself: Rielle Hunter.

In the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestseller What Really Happened, Hunter offers an extremely personal account of her relationship with John Edwards: the facts of how they actually met, how their accidental love started and escalated, what it was like to fall in love with a married man who decided to run for president, the surprise of becoming pregnant during the campaign, how the affair became public, the extensive cover-up, and finally, what happened in the years after Edwards publicly admitted to being the father of their daughter, Frances Quinn.

Meet Edwards’s political players and get an intimate look at how they really operated. Learn about the evolution of “friends,” enablers, and do-gooders, their involvement with the affair and Edwards’s 2008 presidential campaign, and where the money from Rachel “Bunny” Mellon and Fred Baron actually went.

This book doesn’t spin the truth to achieve a prettier picture or a better story. It isn’t about changing anyone’s mind. It’s simply the facts, the truth of what really happened.

Frequently Bought Together

What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter, and Me + Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life's Adversities + The Politician: An Insider's Account of John Edwards's Pursuit of the Presidency and the Scandal That Brought Him Down
Price for all three: $22.58

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

RIELLE HUNTER has been writing since 1993 and has studied meditation, yoga, and Eastern philosophies. What Really Happened is her first book. She has one daughter, Frances Quinn. --This text refers to the MP3 CD edition.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: BenBella Books; 1 edition (June 22, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1937856402
  • ISBN-13: 978-1937856403
  • Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.1 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (202 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
426 of 440 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars More than one side to a story... June 26, 2012
Format:Hardcover
I was a bit queasy when "What Really Happened" came to me for review. Having read Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime I felt I'd heard probably the most objective word about Rielle Hunter you're likely to get, but then again most of the comments reported there came from John Edwards staffers who clearly had an axe to grind against Hunter. I certainly tried to approach "What Really Happened" with an open mind, realizing that there are two sides, and sometimes more, to every story. That said, there is a certain self-serving quality to Hunter's book that not only lacks balance, but which shows her own naiveté and character flaws for all to see. Hunter does make some valid points about the Edwards's marriage and Elizabeth Edwards in particular, but the difficulty is sorting the wheat from the chaff. Undoubtedly Elizabeth Edwards was profoundly shattered by the early death of their child and her subsequent health scares, but can you really blame her for detesting Hunter and fighting to save her marriage? Hunter's depiction of how she came to meet John Edwards and how their relationship unfolded is particularly disturbing in her profound lack of self-awareness and how her behavior impacted those around her and the Edwards campaign. Her prose here fairly screams of self-absorbsion and narcissism. In that respect it's no wonder she was drawn to John Edwards as they're truly two peas in a pod. The intimacy between them and their burgeoning relationship feels a bit gratuitous, falling into the category of over-sharing, something that really could describe the whole book. I understand that Hunter wants to set the record straight from her perspective and that she wants her daughter to understand how she came to be. There's a similar mix of naiveté and narcissism to her belief that she still has a potential future with John Edwards and the truth is that subject remains somewhat open. On the flip side my own thought was "who cares?" Edwards clearly is a spent force politically; it's unlikely there will be a Nixonian second act. The sainted Elizabeth Edwards is dead and cannot defend herself. In the end "What Really Happened" becomes much ado about nothing. Edwards was an also-ran in 2008, a one-term senator, and now disgraced beyond repair. The beauty of "What Really Happened" is that Hunter betrays herself as she really is. Even her worst enemies couldn't have written a book that damages her as deftly as she slaughters herself. As a result "What Really Happened" becomes a bit like fighting over a deck chair as the Titanic slips below the waves; it doesn't really matter anymore.
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147 of 154 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your money or time June 26, 2012
Format:Hardcover
I went into this book with an open mind. I was determined not judge her, even after seeing her dismal 20/20 interview. Maybe the book would be better than her interview. Clearly, there must be more to her actions than just "love" for Johnny. I was prepared for Ms. Hunter's side of the story. What I got were a bunch of justifications for actions Ms. Hunter never seems to be willing to take responsibility. "Love" is her justification for ever action she takes. While I don't dismiss the power of her love for John Edwards, it's difficult to view Rielle as a woman who was simply madly in love opposed to an opportunistic home wrecker when she continually blames those around her. If Rielle was hoping to rehabilitate her image in the public she has failed miserably.
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89 of 91 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Thank God for Rielle Hunter June 29, 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Why do I say that? If it weren't for Rielle Hunter, we citizens of America may have ended up with John Edwards in high public office, if not the presidency, perhaps a senior role in the administration. What we learn in this book is that John Edwards is a man whose personal maturity was stunted at the age of about 17, a serial liar, and someone who spends 4 hours a day on the phone with his mistress instead of reading public policy papers as he runs for the presidency. So, Rielle helped sweep him from the stage of American political life. The two teenage narcissists, Rielle and John, clearly deserve each other (although the latest in the soap opera is "they've broken up"). The picture that emerges of Rielle from her own book is a middle-aged woman with zero professional accomplishments (what a role model for Quinn), the maturity of a teenage girl, who takes large sums of money from other people because she is broke. So many pages of the book are spent relating how she went from city to city, hotel to hotel, meal to meal, friend to friend. It's a life that those of us who really work for a living and who have healthy family relationships wouldn't recognize. We've all known a friend like Rielle, who seems to revel in the high drama that she creates in her life, all the while earnestly protesting "this isn't what I want".

What's amazing is this: Despite all of the revelations in the book about Elizabeth Edwards and even if you believe most of them are likely an accurate characterization, I would much rather spend a day with Elizabeth than Rielle.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars Speaks volumes that Amazon is charging $2.68 for this narcissistic...
This woman is so lacking in self-awareness, it's breathtaking. I feel sorry for the little girl, being stuck with two immature, selfish, narcissistic parents. Read more
Published 12 days ago by Paige Turner
1.0 out of 5 stars Rielle Hunter's book
In spite of the fact that I really don't like this woman, the book is pretty well-written. I would never have invested real money in her bank account by buying her hard cover... Read more
Published 17 days ago by D. Chance
5.0 out of 5 stars I would reccommend
Great book!!! Kept me interested and gave a lot of insight on the real story. Very enjoyable to read!!!! f
Published 18 days ago by Ericka barr
4.0 out of 5 stars Another perspective
This book gave me an interesting insight to her perspective of the events. It can be difficult to keep up with all the movement and locations but worth a read.
Published 1 month ago by Linda L. Tedlie
3.0 out of 5 stars Thank You Amazon!
Very good read! BUT i am sooo happy I bought this through Amazon and didn't pay full price. Not sure if I beleived her whole story as she made herself out to be the victim in the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Brandi
2.0 out of 5 stars Depressing
I liked John and Elizabeth Edwards. I even had a mostly favorable first impression of Ms. Hunter after seeing her interviewed once or twice. Read more
Published 2 months ago by France
2.0 out of 5 stars Thank heavens for Rielle Hunter
I feel all contaminated and skeeved out after reading the last lines of this revisionist account. To echo an earlier reviewer; thank God this dimwit helped to save us from the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Leafpeeper
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Good book! I didn't think it would be at first but I it turned out to be very good. Glad I bought it.
Published 2 months ago by LeeAnn
5.0 out of 5 stars Rielle Hunter
I loved it. Very interesting to hear the other side of the story. There was so many lies from
John Edwards you didn't know what to believe.
Published 2 months ago by Shirley Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars Back off!
I personally liked it. I see where she was coming from minus the broke mistress collecting all that money. She's human.
Published 2 months ago by Rebecca Walters
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Topic From this Discussion
Can Rielle Hunter get any more vile?
Which Facebook page is discussing Hunter's book, Cindi? I'd be interested in checking out that discussion. I'm SO disappointed to see her book so high in the current rankings. I assumed the world would boycott anything produced by this wretched excuse of a human being. I'm sorry to see I was wrong.
Jun 24, 2012 by Hart Brokn |  See all 33 posts
People like Rielle Hunter, who have no conscience fascinate us
Very interesting. If you don't mind, I am going to copy and paste this comment in the "vile" conversation above. :)
Jun 28, 2012 by Cindi |  See all 8 posts
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