“What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter, and Me.” By Rielle Hunter, June 2012, Hardcover, $24.95, 256 pages, BenBella Books.
Honestly, reading a book about the mistress of a failed presidential candidate didn’t really interest me until I heard about all the flak Rielle Hunter was receiving about her book, “What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter, and Me.”
Hunter tries to set the record straight regarding her romance with Edwards, the birth of their daughter Quinn, and unveils Elizabeth Edwards as a shrill and abusive woman willing to allow an innocent child to suffer to save her reputation. Though Hunter is far from the first writer to shatter the image of Elizabeth Edwards as a saint, a quick Internet search shows that the general public finds Hunter’s characterizations of her ex-lover’s dead ex-wife rather crass. I picked up the book with an open mind and found that Hunter was actually pretty gracious about Elizabeth Edwards’ alleged behavior. The book proves that all three players in the infamous love triangle had good and ugly sides to their personalities and the only true victims in the situation are all of John Edwards’ children.
While at times Hunter’s characterizations of her affair with John Edwards are somewhat sophomoric, they are forgivable considering that she wrote this book while still deeply in love with Edwards. This book is not for everyone, especially those determined to label Hunter as a gold-digging adulteress and Elizabeth Edwards as a complete victim in the failure of her once-storybook marriage. Anyone looking for explicit discussions about intimate encounters between Hunter and Edwards will be disappointed. Hunter takes the high road and does not go into inappropriate details about their dalliances.
Some critics say “What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter, and Me” is a huge reason why Hunter and John Edwards broke up right around the time the book was published in late June.
Considering how many times this ill-fated pair has split up and gotten back together, I have a hunch they will be back together soon unless Hunter’s recounting of their mutually shared love is completely delusional. But perhaps I am the delusional one, still wanting to believe that their great love as portrayed in Hunter’s book can conquer all obstacles.
