Come to the Edge

March 14, 2011
Stifling pathos and loss overshadow this heartfelt memoir by actress Haag about her youthful years of friendship and romance with John F. Kennedy Jr. Both born in 1960, though Haag was some months older, the two attended elite private schools in mid-1970s' New York City and, trailed by Kennedy's Secret Service agents, frequented the same parties and bars as teenagers. Haag went to Brearley, Kennedy to Collegiate, and they both ended up at Brown University and even shared a large house. Haag's serious acting career both attracted Kennedyâa fledgling actor and co-star with her in the small theater production of Winners in 1985âand distanced him, as he preferred his girlfriends to hop on a plane at a moment's notice and plunge into vigorous, sometimes perilous physical activities. Kennedy's abrupt death in a plane accident in 1999 throws a poignant sweetness over such insignificant details as trips they took together and dialogue exchanged; the two were gradually pulled apart in late 1990 by his involvement with Daryl Hannah and other women. Haag proceeds in her narrative with an elusive earnestness, trying to capture the deep connection between the lovers despite the pull of his celebrity, his mother, and their separate pursuits. What remains is a piercing portrait of a vibrant, reckless, tender young man so bursting with life that nothing could contain him.

March 1, 2011

John F. Kennedy Jr.'s former love offers glimpses into the last vestiges of Camelot.

In actress Haag's debut memoir, readers gets a front-row seat to her on-again/off-again love affair with JFK Jr., President Kennedy's eldest son. After nine years cloistered in Catholic school, the author was suddenly propelled into the glitzy world of upper-crust New York. Her sepia-toned recounting of evenings shared with an adolescent JFK Jr. are spellbinding, setting the stage for the romance soon to come. After a series of missed connections and serendipitous run-ins, the pair finally fell into sync, two young actors playing opposite one another in a play. In a revealing conversation, a young Haag informed JFK Jr. that if he forgot his lines, he need only, "[s]top, take a breath, and look into my eyes. It will ground you." It was sound advice, particularly from the woman JFK Jr. would later call his compass. Haag provides minute details that manage to humanize JFK Jr. in a manner the media never attempted. She recalled the "[s]paghetti he made with soy sauce" and "[l]eaping on the benches outside the Museum of Natural History"—both seemingly innocuous details, yet they offer a new look at an old figure. Equally intriguing are the author's romanticized depictions of Jackie Onassis, the widow who could often be spotted riding her bicycle along the trails of Martha's Vineyard, "her head kerchiefed," searching the fields for birds. Despite her intimate view, Haag is careful not to exploit the Kennedy clan; instead, she simply returns them to human form.

An honest, heartfelt account of love, politics and tragedy.

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