Rosemary: A National Book Award Nominee

I was so excited to get this book and it arrived early - so glad as I was going on vacation and wanted to Bring it - I got my wish 👍

I was not familiar with the existence of Rosemary and this book was incredibly interesting. Very heartbreaking too, just shows how little understood people living with a condition were.

I loved this book; very touching sad and true story. I knew the story before but this book is beautifully written and made it worthwhile to read.

Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter is an important piece of writing. Not only does it delineate the other Kennedy family tragedies, but it weaves a tale so propounding important and moving.Rosemary was the daughter of Joe and Rose Kennedy. Having their children at home, the midwife declared that Rose should stop pushing to keep the baby inside her before the doctor arrived; consequently, Rosemary was a slow learner and developmentally challenged from day one. Because her father took her for a lobotomy, she became further challenged, and initially, an embarrassment to the Kennedy family name. While lobotomies have long since gone by the wayside, this book is significant in that it describes the concert of con consistencies in the treatment of Rosemary stemming from the family's own mixed feelings towards her condition. While there was little in the way of treatment, there was much stigma to being "different", "slow" or retarded. (I wonder how far we've really come in this department).This is a must-read because it delivers a portrait so rich in detail and misunderstanding of the times. This is a truly moving poignant story not only in the quality and quantity of research involved, but also in how Rosemary was able to shape the course and motivate her siblings to fight for the cause of mental illness, retardation and to challenge those who felt it was a shame. As an advocate for the mentally ill, I gleaned much knowledge from this wonderful work. If you have a child, sibling or friend who has a disability, you will gather so much knowledge from reading this work. We must not "warehouse" people, or "label" them; and sometimes you will discover they shape your life as much as you may contribute to theirs.

The book arrived in excellent condition, but I haven't had time to read it yet and so can't comment on its contents for the moment. I have however skimmed through a few of the pages and it seems to be an excellent read !Contact me later once I've read the book for a fuller review.Robert Bullock.