A would be sacrificial lamb escapes the grill

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Melania and Me by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff reads like a study of all the intrigue and machinations seething below the surface of a venomous blended family Thanksgiving dinner that goes on for years. Normally books written by seemingly disgruntled employees have credibility issues, but this book is one of the most believable behind the scenes depictions of the nest of vipers that West and East wing factions devolve into. The author comes across as gifted in organization, details, and intelligence, all assets in recounting such a multilayered, complex tale. Her book is a flashlight beam that sweeps across the darkest recesses of egotistic and antipathic manipulations of political, professional, and family cabals, tearing at each other like hyenas over a fresh kill. It could be retitled, How a Would Be Sacrificial Lamb Escapes the Grill and Survives to Tell about It. The lecturing self righteous rants (though therapeutic, cathartic, and well earned) scattered throughout, diminish the power of her personal experience, which decidedly speaks for itself. One of the big heroes in the book is Stephanie’s husband, David Wolkoff, clearly a class act.

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