What an eye opening book on the "forgotten Kennedy daughter", how metal illness was perceived and treated decades ago and another insight into the Kennedy family. I am normally not a fan of non-fiction. A worthwhile read that sparks many discussion questions.

This book is about the Kennedy Daughter who was intellectually disabled. new sources bring her alive as a girl adored but left behind. What happened to Rosemary inspired her siblings to direct attention to the plight of the disabled. It is VERY interesting to see the thought of the times about how to treat and work with this population, how a family reacts and copes, and makes you think about what is different today from then Very good read

This book was not all that well written, in my opinion, but it generated a lot of discussion about mental illness and how society views have changed over the years. Definitely read if you want some good debates for your club!

I enjoyed learning more about the Kennedy family and the context for Rosemary's life.

This book is a good look at the lives growing up of the Kennedys - from the courtship between Rose and Joe Kennedy through the birth of their children. It focuses on Rosemary who didn't meet up to the high standards of Rose and how Rose used every method to "cure" Rosemary. Rosemary's life is sad but out of it grew a national awareness and f how we approach those with mental impairments.

Rosemarys' story is a sad commentary on a parents search for a cure for a child with a disability. Our book club enjoyed discussing the various issues that her story presented. With little known about how to diagnosis and treat children with disabilities, coupled with the families position in society and the political arena, the book allowed for an interesting discussion. I felt the author presented the dilemma well. At times she seemed in sympathy with Rose and the family for their dogged pursuit of treatment and a "cure". Other times she seemed to criticize Rose for her poor choices for Rosemary's care. When they couldn't cure her, they decided to hide her. I found the lack of sibling interaction for so many years to be very sad for the whole family.

Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter is an interesting read. Although I knew a little about Rosemary Kennedy because I live in Wisconsin, where St. Coletta's is located, I had no idea of the manipulations that had gone on in her life before she ended up living there. Overall, our club's members felt surprised at what can only be considered the mistreatment of Rosemary, beginning with her horrific birth, and continuing throughout her life. Both Rosemary and Joe Kennedy seemed more interested in how things were presented to the public - the effect that a less than perfect child might have on their own reputations and ambitions. Another thing we discussed at length was how Rose was really not the grand dame matriarch we had grown up with hearing about, at least not during her actual parenting years. Her obsession with physical activity, competition and her children's weight made her seem more like a temperamental ruler in the extreme and none of us could think of a single word in the book that remotely suggested affection or familial love from either her or her husband. Regarding Rosemary, we wondered if she may have been autistic, or considered much more disabled than she really was, because there were no excuses accepted for anything less than perfection. So many things throughout this book were difficult to read, but one passage struck all of us as especially cruel. When Rose is talking about losing her three boys and then being left with "her", one member said it broke her heart.

An inside look at the mysterious life of the Rosemary who was kept from interacting with her large family and sent to live in a group home in rural Wisconsin.