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

Curtis Roosevelt was three when he and his sister Eleanor arrived at the White House soon after their grandfather's presidential inauguration in the wake of his parents' separation, The country's "First Grandchildren" - a pint-sized double act - they were known to the media, and to the American people, as "Sistie-and-Buzzie." For the next twelve years, Curtis Roosevelt either lived with his grandparents or was a frequent visitor. Even when living elsewhere with his mother and new stepfather, he felt the deepest sense of belonging at the White House and at the Roosevelt family's home at Hyde Park with his great grandmother, Sara Delano Roosevelt.
In this richly illustrated memoir, Curtis Roosevelt recreates the strange and magical world of the Roosevelt White House. He brings us into "the goldfish bowl," as his family called it - that glare of public scrutiny to which all presidential households must submit. He recounts his adventures - and misadventures - as a child caught up in the heady atmosphere of his family's complex relationships.
Having spent his formative years with Franklin and Eleanor as their oldest grandson, Roosevelt's memories of his Papa and Grandmere are unique. Here we see through a child's eye FDR's lively bedside breakfast "meetings," those improvised sessions in which the president variously read the comics to Buzzie and Sis and reviewed the day's agenda with his closest advisors. As a teenager, Curtis Roosevelt offers a fascinating view of the private drama inside the famous household - from the tensions between his grandmother and her mother-in-law to the painful fact that his father was excluded from this tightly knit family.
Blending self-deprecation, humor, awe, and affection, Roosevelt masterfully depicts a young boy's experience orbiting his powerful grandparents. A poignant coming-of-age-story and a distinctive portrait of two of the most influential figures in modern American history, Too Close to the Sun provides rich insights into the emotional impact of growing up in Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt's irresistible aura.