The Missing Kennedy: Rosemary Kennedy and the Secret Bonds of Four Women - Hardcover

Koehler-Pentacoff, Elizabeth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1610881745 ISBN 13: 9781610881746

Publisher: Bancroft Press, 2015

Synopsis

Rosemary Kennedy, younger sister of President John F. Kennedy, was lobotomized in 1941 at age 23. In 1959, she was put out of public view at a remote facility in rural Wisconsin, where, for more than twenty years, she remained unvisited by family and non-family alike, until 1962.

Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff (Liz) and her parents were likely the first non-Kennedy family members to visit Rosemary following her lobotomy. Liz was niece to Rosemary’s caretaker, Sister Paulus, a Catholic nun at St. Colleta, and she visited Rosemary on a regular basis for the next thirty-four years. Through their friendship, Liz discovered the person many had forgotten or never known.

In 2015, ten years after Rosemary’s death, Liz came forward with a fascinating book about the hidden daughter of America’s royal Kennedy family. “The Missing Kennedy: Rosemary Kennedy and the Secret Bonds of Four Women” is truly unique. It is an eyewitness account of Rosemary’s post-lobotomy years, the first published by a non-family member, and it’s augmented by nearly 100 never-before-seen pictures of Rosemary after she was lobotomized.

Liz can shed considerable light on so many questions, the four biggest being:

Why did no one visit Rosemary for more than two decades?

What quality of life did Rosemary lead after her lobotomy?

What should have been the correct diagnosis of Rosemary’s pre-lobotomy condition?

And in what ways did immense good come from Rosemary’s tragic life?

This touching story of the intersection of two families will leave you with a unique portrait of the missing, but not forgotten, Kennedy.

About this title

About the Author

The author of nine books, including a Writer’s Digest Selection for The ABCs of Writing for Children, Liz has now written an adult memoir, The Missing Kennedy (Bancroft Press), which will be out in 2015.

A former Byline Magazine "Writing for Children" columnist, Liz wrote frequent humor pieces for the San Francisco Examiner as well as hundreds of articles and essays in newspapers and magazines such as Parents Magazine, Writer’s Digest, and Parenting.

With degrees in Liberal Studies and Theater Arts/Children’s Theater and two teaching credentials, she’s directed plays and taught elementary, middle school students, and teachers. A speaker for international and state conferences, she presents assemblies and workshops for schools and libraries.

Born in rural Wisconsin, Liz moved to California for all her college and post-graduate education, and has lived most of her adult life in the San Francisco area. She’s married, and has one grown child.

Visit her blog for writing advice, ideas, and anecdotes http://lizbooks.com/blog/, contact her at lizbooks@aol.com, or visit her at her website, www.lizbooks.com.

Review

The Missing Kennedy is a truly inspiring story. It captures my Aunt Rosie's spirit so well. I especially love how it intertwines the stories about Rosie and the author's Aunt Stella. And it provides some great glimpses into the author's experiences with both of them. --Anthony Shriver

Reveals an untold chapter in the Kennedy saga . . . Also shows how knowledge of Rosie's disability led to the founding of the Special Olympics by Eunice Kennedy . . . Provides a few interesting glimpses into one member of the Kennedy clan who was almost lost to her family. --Kirkus Reviews

Poignantly discloses our nation's shortcomings, both historically and contemporarily, when it comes to understanding the mentally ill and intellectually challenged. Also reveals the dearth of research concerning the women of the Kennedy family, which pales in comparison to the body of work focused on its men . . . This is especially true of Rosemary Kennedy, the eldest Kennedy sister, who was lobotomized and kept from her family and the public eye for over 20 years . . . It was the author's aunt, Sister Paulus, who was Rosemary Kennedy's caretaker at Saint Coletta, where Rosemary was kept for many years after her lobotomy only exacerbated her intellectual and emotional challenges . . . Koehler-Pentacoff's book offers an intimate glance at the sheltered life that Rosemary lived while her glamorous family grew in prestige and power . . . Heads in the welcome direction of telling the largely untold story of Rosemary Kennedy, and the story of the intellectually challenged and their allies in the fight to place them as equal members of society. --Irish America

About this edition

• Publisher: Bancroft Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1610881745
• ISBN 13: 9781610881746
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 270