ROSEMARY The Hidden Kennedy Daughter

Horror and compassion are the emotions that dominate as one listens to this well-researched audiobook. Narrator Bernadette Dunne delivers the author’s examination of a privileged life gone horribly wrong. Rosemary Kennedy, Joseph Kennedy’s eldest daughter; sister to a president, an attorney general, and a senator, was born developmentally disabled. Dunne’s deliberate pace will make listeners’ skin crawl with revulsion at what delaying a birth can do to an otherwise healthy child. The horror doesn’t end there. The decade into which Rosemary was born and the dynamics of her prominent family create more tragedy for her because so little was known about the mentally challenged and their capabilities. Compassion for Rosemary’s strength to survive and her inspiring effect on her brothers and sisters are evident in Dunne’s performance. E.E.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2015]