The Ghostwriter Drama Behind Carole Radziwill's Book What Remains Explained

Carole Radziwill's former "Real Housewives of New York" co-star, Aviva Drescher, once claimed that she didn't write her memoir, "What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love." The award-winning journalist and Bravo veteran released the tome in 2005. According to her website, the book covered an unimaginable stretch of Radziwill's life during which she lost her husband, Anthony Radziwill, and best friends, Carolyn Bassett Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr., over a three-week span in 1999. 

Much like their passionate romance, the tragic plane crash that killed the Kennedys was widely covered by the international media. However, "What Remains" offered readers Radziwill's personal perspective as a wife, friend, and family member, who was struggling to cope with her deep-seated grief, only to lose her husband three weeks later.

It's not hard to believe that Radziwill was more than capable of writing her own life story, which spawned coverage across dozens of outlets. However, in 2014, Drescher — who had recently released a memoir called "Leggy Blonde" — claimed during an episode of "RHONY" that Radziwill used a ghostwriter for the poignant celeb memoir. "The word on the street is that you had 'What Remains' ghostwritten by Bill [Withers], the big guy from The Atlantic," Drescher claimed during the episode. Radziwill denied outsourcing her writing, but, naturally, that was only the start of the drama — known as book gate — which resulted in the reality stars questioning each other's writing capabilities.

Carole Radziwill didn't just defend herself on "The Real Housewives of New York." She also did a lengthy interview with E! News, where she took a few shots at Drescher's own writing career. "Aviva is on a reality show, she got a book deal and she hired a ghostwriter," shared Radziwill. "I do not use a ghostwriter. I never have. I think it's clear in the show that she has little understanding of publishing ... She doesn't know the difference between a writer, an editor, and a ghostwriter." 

What prompted the drama, according to Radziwill, was her confusion over Drescher's previous assertion that she'd written her own book, "Leggy Blonde" by herself. "She lied when she told me she didn't hire a writer," said Radziwill, who was "a little taken aback because [she] thought [Drescher] was going to bring that process, whatever it is, on camera and promote her book." Radziwill did, however, admit to hiring Bill Withers to do "copyediting," despite claiming it was beneath him due to his credentials in the industry.

In a personal blog for Bravo, Radziwill offered Withers' reaction to Drescher's claims. "He laughed and said 'I would have been honored to have ghostwritten your book. It was beautifully written,'" Radziwill wrote. "Bill is not a writer, he is an editor. Bill advised me to, 'explain to the young lady the difference between an editor and a writer I'm sure she'll understand.'"

In 2018, Aviva Drescher revealed her motives behind claiming that "Carole Radziwill utilized a ghostwriter for her memoir on "The Reality Rundown" podcast. "Bookgate came up because I was talking to Ramona [Singer] off-camera about how Carole was blowing me off," Drescher shared (via Reality Tea). "When I told her that my publisher told me that Carole had a ghostwriter, Ramona was like 'Oh my gosh. You have to bring it on air. That's such a great storyline.' Carole was being such a b***h to me anyway, so I figured 'Why not bring that on?' I had no idea that was going to hit such a nerve. Honestly."

Drescher also accused Radziwill of getting her fired from the franchise after Season 6. "I think to this day, that is why I'm not on the show," continued Drescher. "I think she went right to Andy and said, 'If you bring Aviva back, I'm not coming back.'" While Radziwill never admitted to influencing Bravo's decision to let Drescher go, she wasn't all that sad to see her exit the franchise. "I think the audience is relieved," shared Radziwill with E! News in 2015. "I think it's probably best for her not to be on television. She doesn't do herself any favors. I'm sure in her real life, off camera, she's doing well," she added.