Written by Sabine Demosthenes
MONTREAL – On a quiet Saturday morning, I woke up happy and grateful that it was Saturday. While I was looking at my dresser, where books from my favorite icons were on display, I laid my eyes on “Lee” by Lee Radziwill.
As I picked up my phone to check emails and Instagram, I told myself I will look at the book again this weekend since it had been a while. The first thing I saw on Instagram was Giambattista Valli saying goodbye to Lee! I quickly jumped out of bed thinking I was dreaming, but I wasn’t.
The glamorous Caroline Lee Bouvier Radziwill had passed away. It was such a sad coincidence that the same day I had glanced at her book on my dresser and wondered about looking at it and the magnificent pictures inside again, she passed away.
For me, Lee was more than the sister of Jacqueline Kennedy. She was her own person. Her feisty personality, her undeniable sense of style, her wit and her sense of humor made her a very special person. If you don’t have the chance to watch her interview with Sofia Coppola, please go on YouTube to see it.
She was magical and so funny.
Her life may have been glamorous, but she had her share of tragedies too. She didn’t let them break her spirit. She lost her dear son, Anthony Radziwill, to cancer (damn you cancer!). There is nothing worse for a parent than the loss of a child.
My comfort is that one day (or maybe it’s already happening), she will be reunited with her dear son; she will hold him in her arms again.
I hope that during this réunion, Andy Warhol, Truman Capote and all of the puppies she had come running toward her and Anthony to give them love and so many hugs.
In the end, many other friends and members of her family are joining this big homecoming party. Her son, her sisters, her nephew, her friends, and her puppies are all walking on the beach, happy and serene.
I truly hope her homecoming will be like this.
The world is a little less glamorous and fun without Lee. It’s definitely the end of the golden age of class. Maybe we should carry her legacy.
You know what, I think we should carry her legacy with pride and with class.
I will end this post with one of her quotes:
I believe that without memories there is no life and that our memories should be of happy time. – Lee Radziwill
