What would Jackie do?

I just finished reading the novel “What would Jackie Do? An Inspired Guide to Distinctive Living" by Shelly Branch and Sue Callaway”. The cover’s synopsis describes the book as,” From fashion to finance, a sophisticated and entertaining guide that shows readers how to attain the elegance and practical smarts that defined Jackie O". This piqued my interest because who better than Jackie Kennedy, our first lady of culture, to emulate as I try to add a little culture to my life.

I found the book to be a quick, easy read that lived up to the author's promise to be entertaining. It contained a surprising amount of trivia about Jackie's life that I hadn't previously known and found interesting. If you are looking for a biography of her life, however, I am sure there are biographies that are superior. I was disappointed in the books ability to inspire me to live a more distinctive life; I found most of the advice either obvious or not particularly relevant to my life.

What I did take away from this book was a heightened admiration for this woman who had been blessed with so many gifts; a great education, money, status and connections. In spite of all this, she was never afraid to roll up her sleeves and immerse herself in whatever project she was working on. Her projects included writing, photography, couture style, historic preservation and how to pair authors with book projects. She treated those who worked for her with respect; I don’t recall a single member of her former staff writing a tell-all novel about her life. (In her will she bequeathed $50,000 to a beloved servant, but left her sister nothing.) Most remarkable of all though was Jackie's ability to reinvent her life three times over after enduring major setbacks that would have destroyed most of us.