I am almost finished with the autobiographical story of a 19 year old college students affair with JFK. It is a very quick read; the story made me sad and at the same time angry.
Once Upon a Secret, my affair with President John F. Kennedy and its aftermath by Mimi Alford.
"In the summer of 1962, nineteen-year-old Mimi Beardsley arrived in Washington, D.C., to begin an internship in the White House press office. After just three days on the job, the privileged but sheltered young woman was presented to the President himself. Almost immediately, the two began an affair that would continue for the next eighteen months. Emotionally unprepared to counter the President’s charisma and power, Mimi was also ill-equipped to handle the feelings of isolation that would follow as she fell into the double life of a college student who was also the secret lover of the most powerful man in the world. After the President’s assassination in Dallas, she grieved alone, locked her secret away, and tried to start a new life, only to be blindsided by her past.
Now, no longer defined by silence or shame, Mimi Alford finally unburdens herself with this unflinchingly honest account of her life and her extremely private moments with a very public man."
It is a fascinating story of a powerful man who misused his position. Taken in the context of the times, it is a story of innocence lost and lives changed. Currently, this story wouldn't be such a big deal or surprise but for those of us who grew up in the 60's and were awed by JFK and his family and the dream of Camelot, it is a sad tale indeed.
