Too Close to the Sun: Growing Up in the Shadow of my Grandparents, Franklin and Eleanor

by: Curtis Roosevelt

Published by: Public Affairs Books

Reviewed by Caryn St. Clair

Imagine your grandparents are two of the most famous Americans of the twentieth century. In fact, your grandparents are from different branches of one of America’s most renowned families, the Roosevelts. Not only were Franklin Delano and Eleanor the grandparents of Curtis Roosevelt, but he and his sister lived with them in the White House. To say that his family and living arrangements made for an interesting childhood is understating it, to say the least.

Curtis Roosevelt, in Too Close to the Sun, has written a gripping memoir giving readers a very different view of one of the most famous families, in one of the most talked about times in American history.

I could not put this beautiful book down. The book is generously sprinkled with family as well as political photographs, which helps to bring the story being told to life. Organized pretty much in chronological order, each chapter tells about one facet of Curtis’ life in the White House. The author often includes historical references to what was going on in America at that time, so not only do readers get an inside look at the Roosevelts’ extended family, they get an insider’s (though a child) view of some of the most significant historical moments in the Roosevelt presidency.

The author does not sugarcoat his childhood. He discusses the odd breakup of his parents’ marriage, which was why he and his sister lived with their grandparents. As he relates his childhood, he also shares some aspects of the inner dynamics of the Roosevelt family that I’m sure other family members wish he would have omitted.

Curtis describes the after effects from living such a privileged childhood and what it has meant to him as an adult. While he enjoyed a fascinating childhood, he was surrounded by a staff ready to meet his every need and by his grandparents, two strong-willed, dominating people, both forces in their own right.

When raised with such privilege, yet in family of such powerful personalities, how does one learn to stand on his own?

Armchair Interviews says: Interesting point of view of this famous family.