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Summary
Summary
In this evocative and affectionate memoir, Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, the last surviving child of Joe and Rose Kennedy, offers an intimate and illuminating look at a time long ago when she and her siblings, guided by their parents, laughed and learned a great deal under one roof.
Prompted by interesting tidbits in the newspaper, Rose and Joe Kennedy would pose questions to their nine children at the dinner table. "Where could Amelia Earhart have gone?" "How would you address this horrible drought?" "What would you do about the troop movements in Europe?" It was a nightly custom that helped shape the Kennedys into who they would become.
Before Joe and Rose's children emerged as leaders on the world stage, they were a loving circle of brothers and sisters who played football, swam, read, and pursued their interests. They were children inspired by parents who instilled in them a strong work ethic, deep love of country, and intense appreciation for the sacrifices their ancestors made to come to America. "No whining in this house!" was their father's regular refrain. It was his way of reminding them not to complain, to be grateful for what they had, and to give back.
In her remarkable memoir, Kennedy Smith--the last surviving sibling--revisits this singular time in their lives. Filled with fascinating anecdotes and vignettes, and illustrated with dozens of family pictures, The Nine of Us vividly depicts this large, close-knit family during a different time in American history. Kennedy Smith offers indelible, elegantly rendered portraits of her larger-than-life siblings and her parents. "They knew how to cure our hurts, bind our wounds, listen to our woes, and help us enjoy life," she writes. "We were lucky children indeed."
Author Notes
Jean Kennedy Smith was born on February 20, 1928, in Boston Massachusetts, to Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald. She is the eighth of their nine children. Her siblings include President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Senator Ted Kennedy, and the founder of the Special Olympics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver. She was appointed the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland in 1993 by then President Bill Clinton. As ambassador she was instrumental in the Northern Ireland peace process as President Bill Clinton's representative in Dublin.
She is the founder of Very Special Arts, an internationally known non-profit dedicated to creating a society where people with disabilities can engage with the arts. She was recognized for her work with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded to her by President Barack Obama in 2011. Her book, The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy, made several best seller lists in 2017.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Smith is the last remaining child of Joseph and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, and her tender memoir recounts the family's early home life. Smith is the former U.S. ambassador to Ireland and a founder of VSA, an international organization providing arts and education opportunities for people with disabilities. Her narrative takes readers back in time to the 1930s-1950s, when the now nearly mythic Kennedy family consisted of two devoted parents and their nine children. Smith includes a chapter on the prejudice against the Irish that Smith's great-grandparents experienced, and their subsequent rise within Boston society. She concludes her narrative as her brother Jack becomes the president of the United States. In between, Smith divulges domestic routines and rules; chronicles the family's love of the ocean and sports, especially touch football, sailing, and tennis; and explores her mother's insistence upon "cultivation of the mind" and learning about the world. Conversations during family dinners focused on current events or history. Smith sprinkles numerous family photos and quotes throughout the narrative, providing additional dimension. This is a sweet and loving look back at the Kennedy family, written from the perspective of a daughter as well as a sister. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Jean Kennedy Smith is the eighth child of Rose and Joseph Kennedy and the sole survivor of the original nine, who included President Kennedy and Senators Robert and Edward Kennedy, along with accomplished sisters like Eunice Shriver, who started the Special Olympics. When John Kennedy ran for the presidency in 1960, a family fairy tale grew up around the Kennedys, and that is the story Smith retells here. In this version, there are no infidelities by Joe, no extended travels by Rose. The children are supportive, not competitive, as Joe Jr. and Jack were. But who can begrudge Smith viewing her childhood through the prism of its happiest moments, which were no doubt equally true? Devoted parents offered their children great opportunities; her siblings, encouraged to look out for each other, were extraordinarily close; and Kennedy summers at Hyannis Port, full of sunshine and the sea, made for rich memories. Smith does a fine job of weaving in the family's Irish history and produces nuggets about each sibling. The many photos include ones rarely seen. This very personal family portrait will be especially appealing for longtime Kennedy watchers.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2016 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE? Essays, by Marilynne Robinson. (Picador, $18.) In a collection of lectures and other writing, the Pulitzer Prizewinning novelist and critic dwells on the current political and cultural climate, and defends the importance of the public university. Above all, Robinson returns to prominent themes across her work: the moral dimension of intellectual development, and the relationship between faith and reason. THE LOST GIRLS OF CAMP FOREVERMORE, by Kim Fu. (Mariner, $14.99.) An overnight kayaking trip becomes tragic one summer at a camp in the Pacific Northwest, and reverberates throughout the lives of the campers for years to come. Our reviewer, Lisa ??, praised the novel, writing that Fu is "a propulsive storyteller, using clear and cutting prose to move seamlessly through time." ASK ME ABOUT MY UTERUS: A Quest to Make Doctors Believe in Women's Pain, by Abby Norman. (Bold Type, $16.99.) Norman is one of millions of women across the world with endometriosis, and uses her experience as a jumping-off point to argue that women's discomfort is routinely dismissed by doctors. Along the way, she interweaves revealing anecdotes - spanning everything from Freud to recent scientific debates. DOWN THE RIVER UNTO THE SEA, by Walter Mosley. (Mulholland/Little, Brown, $15.99.) Joe King Oliver was once one of the N.Y.P.D.'s top investigators, until he was framed for sexual assault and imprisoned. Years later, he's trying to recover from the horrors he faced in jail and running a private detective agency with his teenage daughter, when he hears from the woman who accused him: She found religion and wants to clear her conscience. King then begins the tricky process of looking into who wanted him off the police force - and why. THE NINE OF US: Growing Up Kennedy, by Jean Kennedy Smith. (Harper Perennial, $16.99.) The eighth of nine children, Jean is the last surviving Kennedy sibling, and writes fondly about her experiences with the clan. Some notable episodes are absent from this slim memoir, but her recollections - especially those of a young child witnessing her father's politicking - are a sweet tribute, and give a more personal dimension to a highly public family. THE HOUSE OF BROKEN ANGELS, by Luis Alberto Urrea. (Back Bay/Little, Brown, $16.99.) This bighearted book tells the story of the La Cruzes, an exuberant Mexican-American family in San Diego, who gather as the patriarch is dying of cancer. "The novel disrespects borders," our reviewer, Viet Thanh Nguyen, wrote, calling it "a Mexican-American novel that is also an American novel."
Kirkus Review
Fond memories from the last surviving child of Joseph and Rose Kennedy.Smith, the eighth of her parents nine children, offers a warm portrait of her happy childhood, when she reveled in the company of her brothers and sisters, guided by her inspiring, supportive parents. Born in 1928, she grew up in their Bronxville home, where the family moved from Brookline, Massachusetts, to be closer to Joseph Kennedys work in Manhattan, and in their beloved summer house in Hyannis Port, on Cape Cod. Saltwater was in our blood, she writes, in our genes. Smith portrays Joe as a devoted father and husband who flooded us with affection and enjoyed nothing more than dinnerpromptly served at 7:15surrounded by his adoring clan. Dinner conversation veered toward politics, with a lighthearted game that consisted of quizzes about what each child would do if confronted with one political problem or another. Both parents instilled in the children a sense of service and responsibility; Rose was a stickler for lessons, which she felt strengthened our knowledge and resolve. These included music, sports, art, languages, and whatever subject and hobby that interested us, and even some that did not. Managing nine children involved discipline and organization. Anyone who disobeyed was sent to Rose clothes closet for punishment. She guided the childrens mealtime and bedtime prayers, and she kept track of their vital statistics on index cards, which she updated each week. Smith idolized her older brothers Joe (who was her godfather) and Jack (godfather to Teddy); her closest playmate was Teddy, the last born; and she adored her elegant sisters Kick and Pat. Smith defends her parents decision to treat Rosemarys anxieties and agitation with a lobotomy, which went tragically wrong. As with other losses and crises, the family could do only one thing in the aftermath: move forward. The authors idealized view of her family counters many biographical portraits of the Kennedys. As the family photos illustrating this memoir attest, for Smith, all was sunshine, smiles, and elegance. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
In this memoir of individual vignettes, -Kennedy Smith, former U.S. ambassador to Ireland and the last living sibling of former president John F. Kennedy, recounts the stories of her family, especially those formed at their summer home in Hyannis Port, MA. While the author briefly discusses the siblings' later years, the bulk of the book centers on their upbringing. The short, nostalgic accounts feature less of the author's own experiences, instead spotlighting how other family members impacted her life. Narrating the specific influences of their parents, who encouraged each child to think for themselves, she illustrates how each was groomed to make a difference in the lives of others. With tales of touch football, local sailboat races, and the brief time the children spent in Britain when their father was appointed ambassador, this memoir relates the siblings' impressive lives together, providing a look into the childhoods of one of the most influential political families, before they became adults who took on the world. VERDICT This quick read will appeal to history buffs, Kennedy enthusiasts, and casual readers who enjoy lighter biographies. [See Prepub Alert, 4/25/16.]-Stacy Shaw, Orange, CA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Prologue: The White House by the Sea | p. 1 |
| 1 "No Whining in This House" | p. 7 |
| 2 The Nine of Us | p. 17 |
| 3 "No Irish Need Apply" | p. 37 |
| 4 Closet Castaways | p. 53 |
| 5 Faith, Values, and Hard Work | p. 67 |
| 6 Grandma and Grandpa Fitzgerald | p. 85 |
| 7 The Ocean in Our Veins | p. 99 |
| 8 Our Jewel | p. 109 |
| 9 On the Town with Dad | p. 129 |
| 10 A Life Full of Lessons | p. 145 |
| 11 Alone with Mother | p. 163 |
| 12 The Dinner Discussion | p. 175 |
| 13 Teddy | p. 185 |
| 14 Daily Walks | p. 193 |
| 15 Forever Changed | p. 205 |
| 16 A Long Way from Bronxville | p. 217 |
| Epilogue and the Beat Goes On | p. 237 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 255 |
| Image Credits | p. 259 |
