The Nine of Us

August 22, 2016
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 1930sâ1950s, 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.

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 Kennedy's 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 dinner--promptly served at 7:15--surrounded 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 children's 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 Rosemary's "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 author's 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(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 15, 2016
Former U.S. ambassador to Ireland, Kennedy Smith is the eighth of nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. Now, as the last surviving sibling, she offers a heartwarming account of their upbringing. With a 150,000-copy first printing.

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