Symptoms of Withdrawal

A Memoir of Snapshots and Redemption

By: Christopher Kennedy Lawford

Narrated by: Christopher Kennedy Lawford

At last, the first memoir from a Kennedy family member—an inspirational, candid, and explosive personal story sure to be one of the most sensational bestsellers of the year

Christopher Kennedy Lawson was born to enormous privilege. But with fame, money, and power came tragedy and heartbreak. In this clear-eyed, sensitive, and compulsively readable autobiography, he breaks his family’s long-held silence to a rare glimpse into the exclusive worlds of both Washington politicos and the Hollywood elite during the socially turbulent 1960s and 1970s.

As the first born child of famed Rat Pack actor, Peter Lawford, and John F. Kennedy’s sister, Patricia, Christopher Lawford was raised in Malibu and Martha’s Vineyard with movie stars and presidents as close family members and friends. But this little boy who learned the twist thanks to private lessons from Marilyn Monroe would grow up to become a spoiled adolescent with a near-fatal jones for heroin and alcohol. With deep sincerity, Kennedy sets the record straight, sharing many never-before-told stories about the good, the bad, and the ugly in his life, including the deaths of his uncles, his parents’ divorce and its effect, his hard-fought struggle to overcome addiction, his long-lasting sobriety, his acting career, and his relationships with his famous cousins and his own children. Surprisingly frank, Kennedy pulls no punches as he tells us what it’s really like to be a member of America’s first family.

THIS BOOK IS A GREAT LISTEN!!

I really loved this autobiography!! I liked that the author narrated his story, Christopher Lawford does a wonderful job bringing across his emotion to the listener! Very well done!!

A Courageous History of a Flawed Person

Nicely written and well-narrated. Conveyed well the perils of being whom he was doomed to be. I was sympathetic to him until the last chapter when he talked about leaving his wife for the flimsiest of reasons. While I respected and admired his struggles and the difficulties of being in the Kennedy sphere, I found him in the end to be an insensitive and selfish person. At the same time I admire his courage in baring himself to an audience of unknown people.

Wonderfully told.

An amazing life, lived from an extraordinary vantage point, told beautifully.
Thoroughly enjoyable and much appreciated.
I plan to read again.

Would have liked an unabridged version

I bought the hardcover and read it some time ago. This was a good abridgment, but I still think you miss a lot this way.

So as a narrator, Christopher Lawford has a pleasant voice and (one of my pet peeves) is good with pronunciations.

It's an autobiographical account of his life so one tends to take some things with a grain of salt. Still, he covered things that I remembered from the hardcover edition and seems to be fairly honest with his shortcomings. Definitely worth a repeat listen.

What a great voice and what a book!

I'm writing from my son's account. My name is Elizabeth. I loved Chris's dad, Peter, I'm a huge fan. I heard about this book long time ago and was really looking forward to reading it, but my eyes are so bad these days, so I decided to pick-up an audio book. I'm so sad it's abridged. But Chris sounds so wonderful, he should be doing voice over work! I have to say, Chris has much sexier voice than his father. It's much deeper. It is a wonderful book. I'm still looking for someone to read me the whole book...may be I'll get lucky.