Gloria Vanderbilt was born on this day in 1924. While her 95 years were glamorous and privileged her extraordinary days were also filled with the most ordinary emotions of life.
Because the Vanderbilt name landmarks much of American history glossy images of ‘the poor little rich girl” are laminated into our pop-culture. Vestiges of Gloria Vanderbilt’s childhood trauma, salacious love affairs, and entrepreneurialism are part of our snap-shotted zeitgeist. But there was more meaning to the icon’s life than glimpses of vapid mind-candy allow.
“Nothing Left Unsaid” is a visually stunning HBO documentary. “The Rainbow Comes and Goes is an emotionally touching companion book.
Together they serve as manor-sized windows into the consequential relationship Anderson Cooper developed with his mom, Gloria Vanderbilt Cooper. Facing the inevitability of her passing with a sense of ‘unfinished-ness’ AC suggested they engage in a full exploration of life via e-mail. Unburdened by face-to-face exchanges the result of the year long thread created a tapestry of vulnerabilities.
Speaking with the candor of adults, reflecting on the impact of pseudo-intimacy and a lifetime longing for a love that would last they shared how loss shaped their personal and professional relationships. “Nothing Left Unsaid” and “The Rainbow Comes and Goes” are evocative extensions of an Americanized Greek tragedy.
Bookending these complimentary works Anderson Cooper and his co-writer Dr. Katherine Howe have written extensively on other gilded age lives. “Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty” and “Astor:The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune” are page-turners worthy your time.
Dr. Katherine Howe and Anderson Cooper Old South Church, Boston 10/4/2023
The books are an amalgam of personal stories that trace fundamentals of industrial expansions that defined America. The authors weave together locomotive-sized examples of applied work-ethics, consequences of relentless human foibles and National history. Reading the books as stand-alone chronicles will be satisfactory, but the pithy nexus of power and pathology become more rock-solid when the New YorkTimes Best Sellers are read as a pair.
“Nothing Left Unsaid” is streaming now on HBO
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