Today’s Nonfiction post is on Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larson. It is 302 pages long and is published by Mariner Books. The intended reader is someone who is interested in American history and likes biographies. There is mild foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.
From the back of the book- Joe and Rose Kennedy’s strikingly beautiful daughter Rosemary attended exclusive schools, was presented as a debutante to the Queen of England, and traveled the world with her high-spirited sisters. And yet, Rosemary was intellectually disabled — a secret fiercely guarded by her powerful and glamorous family.
In Rosemary, Kate Clifford Larson uses newly uncovered sources to bring Rosemary Kennedy's story to light. Young Rosemary comes across as a sweet, lively girl adored by her siblings. But Larson also reveals the desperate and duplicitous arrangements the Kennedys made to keep her away from home as she became increasingly difficult in her early twenties, culminating in Joe's decision to have Rosemary lobotomized at the age of twenty-three and the family's complicity in keeping the secret. Only years later did the Kennedy siblings begin to understand what had happened to Rosemary, which inspired them to direct government attention and resources to the plight of the developmentally and mentally disabled, transforming millions of lives.
Review- Memoir about a forgotten child in a glamorous family. Rosemary Kennedy's life was marked from her birth, when her mother was unattended by a doctor and some kind of birth trauma happened to her. From a young age she was markedly different from her other siblings and at first her family didn't know what to do but over time they sent her to different schools, doctors, and tried many different methods ultimately ending in a lobotomy. Rosemary's brothers and sisters had no idea what her parents had done to her for so many years and so were very shocked when they discovered the true extent of what had happened to her. A very heartbreaking story about a young girl who was mentally disabled yes and was going through frustrating time, but ultimately was horribly mistreated by the people who should have taken more care of her. Although Rosemary's life itself was very tragic the final chapter of this book is called Rosemary made a Difference because when her siblings realized what happened to her, they became very concerned about what else was happening to other people and her siblings were people with power; so they did something. If you are interested in a piece semi-forgotten of Kennedy family lore I would recommend this book but be warned it is very heartbreaking and at times extremely difficult to read, not because of the writing style because of the content.
I give this biography a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for this review and I was given this book as a gift.
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