Praise for Jackie O: On the Couch

“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; former Historian, U.S. Department of the Army, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Social Security Administration; co-author, The Corps of Engineers : the war against Germany; and frequent book reviewer of history-related books, The Baltimore Sun and The Baltimore Evening Sun

“Extremely entertaining. Totally and convincingly busts the long-held perception that, from a sexual standpoint, Jackie was the proverbial ice princess all her life.”
—Margaret Richman, Denver, CO

“I won’t lie to you. I was skeptical. But by page 2, I was hooked. Jackie O: On the Couch is not only informative, it is insightful and interesting. It boasts the trifecto of i’s.  When I see Jackie O, or anyone legendary, on the cover of a book, I grab or request it before I really know what it is about. Very short-sighted, I know, but it can make for interesting reading. So when I saw this gem appear on Net Galley, I immediately requested it. I mean, come on – Jackie O is the woman we have to thank for the popularity of oversized sunglasses! The woman at the side of JFK! The woman who married Aristotle Onassis! Those are the three things that immediately come to mind when you think of Jackie O . . . until you read Jackie O: On the Couch. I had been skeptical when I saw that this was not actually a Jackie O book in a vault somewhere, but was the book of someone I had never heard of, writing about Jackie O’s life from Jackie’s perspective. But then I read that the author, who is wonderful, is a psychoanalyst, and in preparing to write this book, read 100 books on Jackie. So if anyone who did not actually know Jackie could be looked upon as an authority on her, it would have to be Dr. Alma H. Bond. I now know so much more about the enigmatic woman who was Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. The book is beautifully written and offers a lot of insight into the world of Jackie O. It also pays attention to other significant historical figures like John F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Bobby Kennedy, etc. Dr. Bond’s chapter on JFK as a father is so moving. This is the kind of book you hope someone would write about you when you are no longer of this world. So, if you are interested in the lives of those who are no more, but who made a significant difference in their lifetimes, then Jackie O: On the Couch is definitely the book for you.”—Bibliophilia

“In twenty finely wrought and sensitively drawn chapters, Bond creates a voice worth hearing. Her Jackie O is no cookie-cutter cardboard creation. Not the stuff of tabloids or stoic first ladies keeping their chin up while their real voice goes unheard. Instead, Bond gets inside Jackie’s head and gives us a real flesh and blood human being with her own ambitions, desires, and contradictions, as well as a sensuality and psychology all her own. Right from the get-go, Jackie tells us that ‘life has always been more important to me than writing about it.’ Even so, Bond’s insightful psychoanalysis reveals a Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis we can hardly imagine. In this book, she takes us on a star-spangled, celebrity-studded journey through a series of constellations that dare to go where few writers have had the guts to venture before. Bond, a practicing psychoanalyst with more than 60 years of shedding light on those dark corners of the mind that most of us dare not see, brings to life a Jackie O who is as hot-blooded and passionate as the men in her life. Although Bond has fictionalized the likes of Maria Callas and Camille Claudel and is more qualified than most to put Jackie on the couch, her narrative reads like a suspense thriller and keeps readers on the edge of their chairs. Take Jackie’s reflections in chapter 2, in which she tells us about her sister, Lee Radziwell. "Was it passive-aggressive of me to remain friends with and take the side of a man who had cheated on my sisters, she wonders." Jackie goes on to dwell on how she betrayed her sister with Aristotle Onassis, who ignited her passions as no other man had. It is revelations such as this one that make this book a total page-turner. We can hardly wait to devour the next course in this banquet Bond has put before us. In giving us the unscripted moments of Jackie’s inner most life, Bond makes us feel as if this highly ambitious, complex and driven woman is speaking directly to us. At last, we begin to grasp the woman behind the celebrity. Her dreams, hopes, disappointments and finally the cancer that ravished her at the end of her incredible life.”—Midwest Book Review

“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.”—Clara Roberts, Towson, MD

“Informative, historical, fascinating!!!! Learning about Jackie Kennedy from her point of view was enlightening. I have always been fascinated by her very public life and the tragedy that befell such a young woman. 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  I had. A very well written bio that had me laughing, crying, and seeing a time in history from a different point of view.”—Karen Broadhead, Granger High School, West Valley City, UT

“Bond’s meticulously researched biography of Jackie O is a page-turner. Though we know how it turns out (good girl morphs into bad girl, finally discovers self), Bond has put the puzzle pieces of Jackie’s life together in such a way that she seems almost—but never quite—human. From the darling of the American press to the lover of a womanizing Greek, Jackie is ever in search of something more. Bond’s inside look at much of her life does her honor, yet she doesn’t shy away from the more smug moments of Jackie’s attitude (and yes, she does have many reasons to be smug, thanks in large part to iron-clad self-discipline). What Jackie really needs to find, however, is herself. I kept wanting her to let go of her desperate need for approval and her strong desire for accessories, be they men, furnishings, yachts, or an exotic life. Jackie is, from start to finish, a narcissistic, spoiled rich kid. Even when she bemoans her lack of funds, she’s still subsisting on $20,000 a month, and that was years ago. So although I find myself in sympathy for someone who needs to find herself, her own smug attitude kept me from too much empathy. Still, I'm glad I read it. Bond has done an amazing job of letting us glimpse the woman inside the public persona.”—Ann M. Beardsley, Scribes World Reviews

Also Read the Op-Ed by Dr. Alma Bond, Nothing New in Jackie Kennedy Interviews in advance of the release of Caroline Kennedy and Michael Beschloss’s new book, Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy

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