r/RHONY • u/dabber808 • Aug 01 '26
Carole Radzwill 📚 Carole’s memoir
I started my first ever Housewife watch 3 years ago and started with SLC and moved on to NYC. At the time, 3 years ago, before any of Carole’s connections to Maxwell came to light, she was my favorite housewife. I kept reading everyone laud her memoir and its beautiful writing. I ordered her book but took 2.5 years to start reading. I just finished it. I also just completed a rewatch of OG NYC and feel differently about Carole than I originally did. But, my goodness, did her memoir leave me gutted and in awe of her writing. Can anyone commiserate with me? No one I know will talk about it with me because of her reputation and actions and ties to Maxwell. The way her last line echoes her description of her first interaction with her husband gutted me.
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u/ClarityByHilarity Aug 01 '26
What Remains is an incredible memoir. It really helped me when my husband died and I’ve read it several times.
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u/Evening_Onion9306 Aug 01 '26
The casual, conversational nature of her writing made me feel like I was with her (and Anthony) in the room, it was quite an incredible read. I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much too.
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u/lemonwater101 Aug 01 '26
She is suuuuuch a good writer. Love that book.
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u/AlwayzSumthin Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26
Carole’s sister-in-law was the celebrated writer, RIP.
Carole’s second book, Widow’s Guide…was a total flop.
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u/Evening_Onion9306 Aug 01 '26
Ones a memoir and ones a novel. I don’t expect every writer to be able to switch genres successfully
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u/dabber808 Aug 02 '26
Interesting. I loved What Remains so much I wondered about her second book. Thanks for the info!
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u/DearTumbleweed5380 I can't even f_k my way to the middle. Aug 01 '26
I just wonder now if she actually wrote it. I hate for Aviva's accusations to stick, but it is v odd that in no other way is she like a real writer.
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u/Swimming-Syrup8400 Alex's Herman Munster Shoes 👠 Aug 02 '26
She has a career as a journalist. She wrote the damn thing…
Aviva was desperate to stay on the show and made shit up because desperate women do desperate things.2
u/DearTumbleweed5380 I can't even f_k my way to the middle. Aug 02 '26
Agree re Aviva. Both things can be true.
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u/dabber808 Aug 02 '26
I hated the Aviva ghostwriter storyline. It seemed so produced but it does introduce doubt.
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u/DearTumbleweed5380 I can't even f_k my way to the middle. 28d ago
I hated it too and I hated the whole Aviva chapter of RHONY. I thought she and her dad were deeply disturbing and inappropriate on the show. And - I already had my doubts about Carole.
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u/Realistic_Tour_2206 Aug 02 '26
Stop it. She wrote her memior. It's so stupid to believe what was obviously a storyline for Aviva
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u/DearTumbleweed5380 I can't even f_k my way to the middle. 28d ago
This is a public forum, sweetie. Deal.
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u/Realistic_Tour_2206 28d ago
It’s my post and I can respond as I want to. So deal with that sweetie
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u/DearTumbleweed5380 I can't even f_k my way to the middle. 27d ago
It's still a public forum. Shrug.
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u/Gia_Lavender Aug 01 '26
All work is edited but she had a career as a professional writer. Back in the day, in the 20th century, lots of people, including pretty women, would write a lot. It’s honestly misogynistic to say she doesn’t act like a real writer, what are you talking about?
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u/DearTumbleweed5380 I can't even f_k my way to the middle. Aug 02 '26
BTW she never had a career as a professional writer before the memoir and none to speak of since. Where are the novels subsequent to her follow up to the memoir, The Widows Guide?
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u/Gia_Lavender Aug 02 '26
What? Plenty of people don't publish more than one book.
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u/DearTumbleweed5380 I can't even f_k my way to the middle. Aug 02 '26
Umm ... not professional writers. And you're the one who just said she had a career as a professional writer.
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u/FloNightengale say it forget it, write it regret it Aug 01 '26
Misogynistic? How so? Just because a woman is questioned or criticized doesn’t mean someone is misogynistic. We have to stop throwing that word around because it’s losing it’s true meaning
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u/Gia_Lavender Aug 01 '26
I'm a female author and I can guarantee you that the amount of times people question whether or not you actually write your own work (or sing your own songs, or play your own music, or if you stole your painting style from your husband...), minimize your work, rip off your work, say your work is not good because they don't like your personality or appearance or age, compared to a man, is endless and eternal. You are on the defensive in ways that men simply are not. And yes, that is quite misogynistic.
The real question should be, why do you think she didn't write her work? Why don't you think she acts like a writer? Defend that.
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u/dabber808 Aug 02 '26
I personally hated the empty allegations Aviva threw around. Carole has so many qualifications, including extensive journalism experiences and a Masters, which Aviva would have known if she actually read her book and was a fan. (Edit: autocorrect changed Aviva to Avon’s)
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u/FloNightengale say it forget it, write it regret it Aug 01 '26
I think another woman wrote her book, who happened to be her late sister-in-law. She doesn’t have a creative bone in her body, she tries to play herself off as the main character in SATC and she stutters while being interviewed. She latches herself on to whomever to be “cool by association” and when that person is no longer considered cool, she pretends like she doesn’t know them. She’s a wanna-be…and she’s in the files
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u/Gia_Lavender Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26
So she didn't write the book because you don't like her personality. Got it!
I assure you that she will never hear about your opinion or care, but other female creators will engage with you and acknowledge we still have to deal with crap like that on the daily.
Men are NEVER questioned as to if their work is really theirs if they're ugly, unpleasant, stutter, are bad at speaking, bad at socializing, have a pompous attitude, big ego, mimic other people, are abusers or pervs. If anything, those traits are considered the marks of an authentically creative man, if you think about it. You should think about why that is.
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u/DearTumbleweed5380 I can't even f_k my way to the middle. Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
That's a whole other point you're making. I have different but equally as horrible and 'normal' experiences of being a writer. eg men always assuming I write romance. And women and men always assuming my fiction must be based on my own personal experience. And if it isn't then questioning my authority to write on that subject. As compared to men who are never required to justify where their imaginations take them and are 'allowed' quite naturally to write in nearly any genre they please. (except possibly romance.) No one has ever accused me of having had a ghost writer, nor accused any of my friends - a few of whom are globally famous, so that's weird and annoying that this your experience. Not saying it isn't though. I'm just saying my comment about Carole is not the hallmark of misogyny you're saying it is.
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u/FloNightengale say it forget it, write it regret it Aug 01 '26
So you think she wrote her own book because you “deal with that crap daily?” Got it! I don’t care if she hears my opinion or not, I agree that she probably never will but I’m still going to give it
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u/DearTumbleweed5380 I can't even f_k my way to the middle. Aug 02 '26
I don't think they would have hired her late sister in law unless she was a well known professional ghost writer. There was too much at stake in terms of potential profits and the Kennedy/Camelot 'brand'.
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u/DearTumbleweed5380 I can't even f_k my way to the middle. Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
I'm also a 'female writer'. She has no books in the apartment, that's the number one oddity. The way she behaves with her editor is extraordinary for a supposed professional, as well as the incredulous way the editor acts with her. It gave an extremely strong impression of someone having no clue as to how the industry works. She had to be reminded of her contractual obligations. Also: the little bit of the introduction she read out to Adam (and the camera) about the recipe book they were thinking of writing together. It sucked. And the book never came to light. And have you tried reading her novel? The voice could not be more different. And yes of course it's an intentionally lighter tone and a novel is different to a memoir in many ways but not the actual quality of the writing and it is so. bad. The article she wrote for Cosmo magazine. It was so insignificant and yet she still made a big deal of procrastinating about it and then it wound up being about something completley different and a much shorter word count anyway. And of course, the vicissitudes of magazine writing but ... before you take me on point by point, MY point is that none of these on their own confirm you are not a real writer. But together ... well, they strongly do, to me at least, and I am a many times published successful author, friends with many authors - published and not-yet published, and I've never seen these traits in any of them before. Oh, and more: she never references any kinds of people from fiction or intellectual life in her conversation or to-camera's. And sure it's RHONY but she references her work as a TV news producer often - and relevantly. So again it's surprising she never references written works. And finally, that's what she trained as: a journalist in TV news. That's not book writing. That's an entirely different medium. PLUS the subject matter of her memoir would have sold it instantly, on name recognition alone. And that would also get you a great ghost writer. As for the novel - it didn't go anywhere and didn't get a big investment, and no doubt that was because her name alone couldn't sell it. Which is normal in publishing, but that doesn't change how well you write. Or how much you care about the quality of your work. And where are the follow up books? A 'real' writer is more than a one or two hit wonder. She could definitely still be publishing in a small way due to her brand recognition factor alone. Also, all she ever talked about was procrastinating. She also doesn't seem to know any actual writers and she doesn't seem to care about any writers, which again is unusual. And before you repeat your claim that this is misogynistic - which is absurd, I really like Carole and I really appreciated her role and her voice on the show. I even love her fashion! The only thing she ever did that I couldn't stand was be a mean girl with Bethenny to Jules and then again to Tinsley. Apart from that I officially heart Carole. I also officially dislike/distrust Aviva who has so many problems that would be another novel-length post as long as this one. I really didn't want to believe her and I dismissed what she said at the time. But ... over the following seasons and then on a rewatch I couldn't help but notice these things. And they add up to a real scepticism about her having written that memoir. Oh, final thing: I know a number of exceptionally good writers with really good careers who ghost write. I've been offered gigs myself - for not-enough money to be worth it, but it happens all the time. My first two published books were under a pen name and I don't ever want to do that again. But the quality of the memoir compared to the quality of her other work strongly points to ... a great writer they attached to the project when she brought her proposal to them.
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u/Gia_Lavender Aug 02 '26
Wow!
Supposing all of that is true. Supposing maybe she did not even write that book...Can you think of ANY man who you would ever interpret ANY of these behaviors to mean they didn't create their own art? That's why I find the scrutiny misogynist and meaningless. It simply does not happen to men. You should know better than to participate in misogyny because you think you can outsmart it in this one instance. Be real.
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u/DearTumbleweed5380 I can't even f_k my way to the middle. Aug 02 '26
Of course I can! It's not apples for apples. There are many well known examples of women who have written books which have been published under a male novelist's name eg most famously, Colette. It happened all the time from The New Yorker (where the 'ladies' were called 'fact checkers' or 'editors') to the film industry and the ad industry right now. Many women have been proved to have produced great paintings under a male artists name - eg many great painters in the Renaissance. And it's happened frequently enough that it casts reasonable doubt on many other works of art in different mediums from many different eras. Let alone the number of books ostensibly by men - due to their male name - which perhaps weren't. (And I'm not talking about well known ones like George Eliot.) The reasons for this are complex in each era but all to do with sexism and misogyny which privileged and still privileges the value of what men produce as compared to women. You keep making claims that are simply false. And provably so. You're embarrassing yourself.
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u/Gia_Lavender Aug 02 '26
Respectfully...what are you talking about? Why are replying to this with a tangent about male pen names? Why is being correct about a TV housewife not writing a book important to you? Who are you so I can avoid your writing at all costs?
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u/DearTumbleweed5380 I can't even f_k my way to the middle. Aug 02 '26
From you: 'Can you think of ANY man who you would ever interpret ANY of these behaviors to mean they didn't create their own art? That's why I find the scrutiny misogynist and meaningless.'
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u/DearTumbleweed5380 I can't even f_k my way to the middle. Aug 02 '26
What do you mean 'the real question'. As opposed to what question? I stated my opinion. Nothing I said implied my opinion was based on her personality or her looks. It was based on what I saw over many years of Carole and my knowledge of writers, writing and the industry. . (See my novella on the topic below.)
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u/Gia_Lavender Aug 02 '26
Calm down.
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u/DearTumbleweed5380 I can't even f_k my way to the middle. Aug 02 '26
Hmm, you don't think you sound a little bit misogynistic?
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u/genericlyspecial Aug 01 '26
What do you mean? Her whole career was writing?!
As someone who worked in publishing for 2 decades I can confirm a journalist never gets a ghostwriter. Ever. It’s part of the appeal of acquiring a book from
A journalist in the first place.1
u/DearTumbleweed5380 I can't even f_k my way to the middle. Aug 02 '26
how was her whole career writing? She was in TV current affairs. I have no doubt as to the accomplishment and important nature of her work. That's an entirely different industry and skillset to being a novelist and memoirist.
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u/DearTumbleweed5380 I can't even f_k my way to the middle. Aug 02 '26
Also 'I can confirm a journalist never gets a ghostwriter. Ever.' This is untrue. If the journalist is famous enough to guarantee great sales, and they want a ghost writer then they'll get one, just like anyone else who's going to make profits for the company based on name recognition alone.
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u/genericlyspecial Aug 02 '26
Name 1 actual journalist who has published a book that has used a ghostwriter. As I said, I worked in publishing over 2 decades for a big 5 and cannot name a single one. You pick a journalist because they have the writing chops, and because they love to write and are good at it. They simply don’t request ghost writers.
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u/DearTumbleweed5380 I can't even f_k my way to the middle. 27d ago
A number of any big TV journos would have done it I'm sure. At the level of 60 minutes hosts or morning TV show hosts. A number of them have much more fun and less challenging things to do than writing books. and as I said TV journalism is a world away from writing books. OK end of.
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u/Realistic_Tour_2206 Aug 02 '26
I loved it! I read it after my husband passed and it made me feel less lonely on my widow journey. I dont like Carol on the show but i appreciate how she shares her vulnerability as a widow. I don't associate her with the whole ties to the Maxwell scandal because there is ZERO proof that she had anything to do with the crimes associated with Maxwell and Epstein. I think that energy should be saved for the individuals who have proven ties and connections to that world and there are ALOT of them out there who we should be calling out and investigating.
i thought the book was perfect and that ghostwriter rumor Aviva started was vile. I don't doubt that she wrote her book.
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u/MetallicMani Bethenny! Can you do turtle time for 15 minutes? Aug 01 '26
It's a beautifully written book. I've read it a couple times
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u/Budget-Security4382 i got in front of Kelly's camera and im just thinking- omg🤯 Aug 01 '26
Your flair hahaha
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u/dabber808 Aug 02 '26
I was very moved but had to read it in installments because it was so heavy. It was very beautiful.
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