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."
I picked up this book as soon as I saw that it was written by one of Kennedy siblings about their personal lives. I have always had an obsession with the Kennedy's, from the Golden President JFK to the hidden sister, Rosemary. I have always been intrigued by their dynamic and I really wanted to understand more.
This memoir was a great insight. I learned so much about the time period: the politics that surrounded the family as they grew up (which obviously shaped JFK); the disability that surrounded the family with Rosemary; the guilty conscience of organizing the procedure that would destroy your already vulnerable daughter; the noble death of the eldest son; JFK's campaign and personality; the tight-knit relationships between the siblings; the heart of the Golden family.
As far as memoirs go, this is the only one that I have read about someone who isn't a pop culture sensation. Therefore, I wasn't expecting it to be light and silly (which is wasn't) or even all that interesting, but it was! I did not want it to end. I wanted more details about everything from the littlest most insignificant stories to the big and monumental ones. I wanted more pictures. I just wanted more. It was overall, magnificent.
Pages: 272 Rate: 5/5
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