The Missing Kennedy

Rosemary Kennedy and the Secret Bonds of Four Women

By: Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff

Narrated by: Denise Washington Blomberg

Throughout her childhood, Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff frequently visited Rosemary Kennedy, President John F. Kennedy's sister. Why? Koehler-Pentacoff's aunt, Sister Paulus Koehler, a Franciscan nun, was Rosemary's devoted caregiver at St. Coletta in Jefferson, Wisconsin, for 15 years and her driver and travel companion for over 30. The resulting audiobook, which will be will be the first about this mysterious Kennedy, chronicles Rosie's life along with that of the author's aunt, and delves into the similarities between the two families. It includes Kennedy quotes from the author's interviews and anecdotes about Rosemary and her famous family.

The book delves into Rosemary's misdiagnosed condition, why her father sought an experimental brain surgery for her without his wife's knowledge, how he kept this fact hidden from the rest of his family for 20 years, and what Rosemary was actually like after her lobotomy. And it will show how Rosemary was the catalyst behind the Special Olympics and related legislation from 1960 to the present.

The Kennedys considered the author's aunt to be a member of their family. Through the author's relationship with Rosemary, Sister Paulus, and her other relatives, the author discovered how family, faith, and silence intertwine to strengthen or destroy our relationships, no matter our status or circumstance in life, whether one comes from in a rich, extraordinary family or a poor, ordinary one.

©2015 Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff (P)2015 Bancroft Press

Very informative

Thank you for bringing awareness to the way people with special needs were treated. But the narrater was monotone.

Most Annoying Narrator Ever

The subject matter of the book would be pretty good if I didn't have to listen to the most annoying narrator in the history of time. This is the story of a nun from Wisconsin, her niece, and Rosemary Kennedy from Boston. Audible, can you find a narrator who doesn't sound exactly like the perfect stereotype of those who discriminated against the Irish immigrants? Can you find a narrator who can at least pronounce the Wisconsin town that figures prominently in the book - Oconomowoc? Because this narrator butchers it over and over and over and over. Ugh.

The Story

I picked up this book because I wanted to learn more about Rosemary Kennedy. It is a was about her but also about another nun, which was interesting just not what I wanted.

great read I would suggest it as required

this should be required reading for high school nationally. it tells more than I can describe

Didn’t enjoy narrator.

I didn’t enjoy the narration. In the narrator’s defense, the writing made interesting narration difficult. The book’s topic had so much potential, but the jumping from the author’s family to Rosemary Kennedy made the story disjointed.