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Rosemary

Written by: Kate Clifford Larson
Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
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Publisher's Summary

They were the most prominent American family of the 20th century. The daughter they secreted away made all the difference.

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.

Major new sources - Rose Kennedy's diaries and correspondence, school and doctors' letters, and exclusive family interviews - bring Rosemary to life as a girl adored but left far behind by her competitive siblings. Kate Larson reveals both the sensitive care Rose and Joe gave to Rosemary and then, as the family's standing reached an apex, the often desperate and duplicitous arrangements the Kennedys made to keep her away from home as she became increasingly intractable in her early 20s. Finally, Larson illuminates Joe's decision to have Rosemary lobotomized at age 23 and the family's complicity in keeping the secret.

Rosemary delivers a profoundly moving coda: JFK visited Rosemary for the first time while campaigning in the Midwest; she had been living isolated in a Wisconsin institution for nearly 20 years. Only then did the siblings understand what had happened to Rosemary and bring her home for loving family visits. It was a reckoning that inspired them to direct attention to the plight of the disabled, transforming the lives of millions.

©2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2015 Blackstone Audiobooks

What listeners say about Rosemary

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Illuminating

This is a fascinating and heartbreaking treatise on Rosemary Kennedy’s life. It seems to provide a balanced portrayal of her parents and their efforts to support Rosemary as she struggled with intellectual and physical delays. Today we would call these efforts misguided, but they were done out of love and devotion.

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Fascinating little known story

I think most people had no idea about Jack Kennedy‘s sister, Rosemary, but this is full of insights into the times in which they lived and the challenges of mental illnesses and experimental brain surgery that often had disastrous results.

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Interesting

Sad ending for Rosemary, but the family really cared for her even though there was such a stigma around mental health sickness.

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    3 out of 5 stars

The mistreatment of women personified

A tragic story of a wealthy family with the means to pick and choose their reality. Fascinating, infuriating and ultimately a story of loss. the book starts out with a lot of diary-like full detail but gets better in the middle. Worth reading.

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Beautiful and heartbreaking

Such a beautiful story but also so sad. A good reminder of how far we’ve come but how far we still have to go. An excellent reminder of everyone’s value on earth.

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Heartbreaking

What a heartbreaking story. That’s what was on my mind, until I got to the part where her father lobotomized her, then I got angry. It seems that things weren’t all that bad, and it was more done for political convenience. And it destroyed her. Truly sad. While some good came from her siblings efforts to create change, her mother’s treatment was sad. Well written.

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Stigma within a Family

Thought I knew her story. Learned much more! Some mistakes made out of love.

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Kennedy Family history

This book shared much information about the Kennedy family growing up along side an in-depth story of Rosemary

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