The Hidden Kennedy Daughter

Rosemary by Kate Clifford Larson is a must read. Please pick this one up. Larson writes a very compelling and compassionate biography of the Kennedy's oldest daughter. Actually, even though it is such a engaging read, it will break your heart. I have a Master's in Special Education and my early years of teaching were in this field. It is heart wrenching because of the mis-diagnosis of Rosemary, and her consequent treatment. She had been kept in the birth cannel by the midwife who would not deliver a Kennedy baby without the high priced doctor present. He was two hours late. After that Rosemary developed more slowly than her siblings. In a family of highly competitive achievers, you can imagine how her self concept was damaged. She had to repeat kindergarten and then repeated first grade. I will give the story away here, but her early years did have some happiness. However as a young adult, twenty-two, she became too difficult to handle. For Joe Kennedy, her behavior was a threat to the careers of the older boys. Hence when the promise of a new "treatment" loomed, Kennedy rushed to Dr. Freeman for a lobotomy for Rosemary. The results were tragic. Worse was the isolation that Rosemary now suffered. None of the children knew where she was. Even her mother didn't know for a long time. I think the tremendous insight into the family, the revelation of attitudes toward the disabled at the time and the tender portrayal of Rosemary herself make this the best read of the fall. "In her engaging and compassionate Rosemary, Kate Larson illuminates the poignant story of a resolute girl falling behind in a glamorous and competitive family. Rosemary's own story comes alive against the broader and often shocking background of twentieth-century attitudes toward the intellectually disabled, and sheds fascinating light on how the characters of Rose Kennedy, Joe Kennedy, and Rosemary's famous siblings were indelibly shaped by her determined yet tragic life."-Will Swift Listen to the podcast from NYTIMES. Some of our younger readers are not even aware of this important story; this might make a great gift of knowledge to them.