The Kennedys at Cape Cod, 1944

The Summer That Changed Everything

By: Leigh Straw

Narrated by: Patricia Rodriguez

Bloomsbury presents The Kennedys at Cape Cod, 1944: The Summer That Changed Everything by Leigh Straw, read by Patricia Rodriguez.

The Kennedys considered their home in Hyannis Port, Cape Cod, ‘The big white house’, to be a haven from their busy lives. Yet in the summer of 1944, against the backdrop of WWII, the events that unfolded for them there changed the family forever.

Beginning in the May of that year, The Kennedys at Cape Cod 1944 paints an intimate picture of those few months. As the younger Kennedy children and their parents settled into their summer home, it follows the family drama that unfolded. From the scandal of the eldest daughter, Kick, marrying William ‘Billy’ Cavendish, and the eldest son, Joe Jr’s, dangerous and secret bombing missions over Europe, to second son Jack’s quiet recovery from injury sustained in the line of duty, younger daughter Rosemary’s conspicuous absence and the youngest son, Ted’s, loneliness, it explores the innermost hopes, fears and anxieties of each Kennedy. Following these events as they played out over the summer of 1944, it culminates with the event that would change them forever: the tragic death of Joe Jr.

Offering a close account of the months leading up to this momentous moment, The Kennedys at Cape Cod 1944 is an unparalleled and never-before-revealed account of how the family experienced and responded to this tragedy, which was later described as a ‘turn in the road’ for their family. The summer of 1944 changed all their lives, and in propelling the second brother, Jack Kennedy, into the political limelight, changed the course of American political history.©2025 Leigh Straw (P)2025 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc