Kate Clifford Larson

Bestselling Author and Award Winning Historian and Consultant

Author photos (c)Susan Wilson www.susanwilsonphoto.com

Rosemary, The Hidden Kennedy Daughter
A Conversation with the author Kate Clifford Larson
August, 2015

Why another Kennedy book? What’s new in Rosemary, the Hidden Kennedy Daughter and what makes your book stand out from the crowd?

Rosemary’s life has always been a small side story to the larger drama of the Kennedy family in the scores of books written about them. This is the first full length biography that puts Rosemary – an intellectually disabled child in a household of overachievers - at the core of that incredible family story. By placing her at the center of the narrative, I was able to see the family in a different light – particularly her parents, Rose and Joe. Their attempts to raise Rosemary to “fit in” with the rest of her more capable siblings is both tragic and inspiring. It is clear, however, that the very existence of Rosemary deeply and profoundly affected the lives of all the Kennedys. The actions and decisions made by them take on a different meaning when you look at them through Rosemary’s eyes.

What are some of your favorite stories from Rosemary’s life?

Rosemary was, in many ways, an enchanting, typical girl of her time. Several of her letters, written during her teen years, reveal a young girl delighting in her social life - being with her girlfriends, getting her hair and nails done, relishing new clothes, going to the movies, and enjoying the attention of boys. She was a debutante and was presented to the king and queen of England when her father was ambassador. Her preference for a social life over school worried her parents, though. She was strikingly beautiful, and very trusting, so they feared for her safety.

What were some of the more difficult aspects of her life?

Rosemary’s parents’ response to her intellectual disabilities created a tension in the family that progressively worsened as she aged into adulthood. She suffered terrible emotional trauma when Rose and Joe Kennedy began sending her away to a series of boarding schools from the age of eleven. She deeply missed her family, and she struggled with institutional and academic demands that were beyond her capabilities. She was also subjected to a variety of medical treatments under the mistaken belief that she could be “cured.” As she matured, her mental health suffered, causing her parents to seek more radical measures to control her.

Rosemary’s public life was cut short as a result of a misguided medical procedure. What did you discover about lobotomies, and why were they performed?

When Rosemary was forced to undergo a prefrontal lobotomy in 1941 when she was 23 years old, the experimental procedure had been performed on fewer than one-hundred patients. Dr. Walter Freeman, a psychiatrist, and his associate, Dr. James Watts, a neurosurgeon, promoted the surgery as a cure-all for psychologically impaired individuals. The doctors were convinced that the frontal lobes controlled the emotional center of the brain and were the cause of mental illness. By severing the frontal lobes of the brain, troubling psychosis and other mental health problems would be eliminated. Tragically, the surgery often left patients profoundly changed and unable to live independent lives. Some died from the surgery. The overwhelming majority of patients were women, and in an era with few patient rights and protections, many of them were forced, like Rosemary, to undergo the treatment. It was never meant to be used to treat people with intellectual disabilities, making the surgery even more horrifying in Rosemary’s case. The fact that her father – and possibly her mother – decided this was a good option for Rosemary is one of the most disturbing aspects of the Kennedy family story.

Why was Rosemary hidden from the public for so many years?

Hiding Rosemary from the public started when she was just a child and sent off to boarding school. Her high powered, successful parents were ashamed and frustrated by Rosemary’s intellectual disabilities. Though they sought educational situations that they believed would accommodate Rosemary, they also believed that strict control and constant attention to her deficiencies would somehow help her overcome her limitations and become an active member of their highly intellectual and physically vigorous family. After the lobotomy, she was so profoundly disabled - physically and intellectually - that they feared the public shame would derail the political aspirations of the Kennedy men.

How did Rosemary’s siblings cope with her disability?

Rosemary’s siblings loved her deeply, and were severely affected by her treatment as a child – the rejection she faced, the disappointments she felt when she could not measure up, and the loneliness she endured. After the surgery and Rosemary was sent away and institutionalized, they were taught not to ask about her and to get on with their lives. But her absence left a huge void in the family. Her sister Eunice, in particular, experienced Rosemary’s absence most intensely. It would drive Eunice to establish the Special Olympics. Jack, as president, would sign important legislation to promote research, treatment, and community resources in the field of intellectual disabilities. And Ted Kennedy, as senator, would sponsor numerous pieces of legislation aimed at accommodating and improving the lives of people with disabilities and their families, including the path breaking Americans with Disabilities Act. Many other Kennedys have committed themselves to improving the lives of the disabled. Rosemary’s legacy is alive today through these actions.

What are some of the sources that you used while researching this book? What hasn’t been seen before?

When I started this book project, a collection of Rose Kennedy’s diaries, letters, and scrapbooks had recently been opened to the public at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Over the next several years, more of that collection, and the papers of Joseph P. Kennedy, were made available. The two collections contain many letters to and from Rosemary, as well as scores of documents related to her education, treatment, and the family struggles to disguise her disabilities and hide her from the public. The records reveal the remarkable lengths Rosemary’s parents went to cure her, and their sometimes selfish motives that motivated their choices for her care. My research also included an examination of the often disgraceful treatment of people with intellectual and physical disabilities, and mental illness, during the early to mid 20th century. Women suffered the most at the hands of an uncaring public and a dehumanizing institutional system and medical establishment. Placing Rosemary at the center of this story also shed light on her mother’s belief systems – as a devout Catholic and a woman struggling to limit her own aspirations in support of her husband – and how that shaped the way Rosemary was treated. I was also fortunate to have access to private papers and photographs.

Why is it so important to have a biography of Rosemary now?

Rosemary, the Hidden Kennedy Daughter reveals a different perspective on the Kennedys, one that places Rosemary at the center of a dynamic family narrative where she belongs. Rosemary’s story still resonates today because it shows us, on the one hand, how much we as a culture have evolved in regards to the education, treatment, and accommodation of people with disabilities and mental illness, and on the other, the struggles that the disabled and their families still face. Rosemary’s life was marred by horrific tragedy, and it is within that story of heartbreak and pain that readers will find an enduring image of a loving young woman who changed her family forever.

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Historian and Consultant

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Education

University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire

Ph.D. American History ? Modern U.S. Women?s and African American History. May 2003

Doctor of Humane Letters (Honoris Causa). May 2016

Simmons College, Boston, Massachusetts

M.A. Liberal Studies (with Distinction), History - May 1995

B.A. Economics/History - May 1980

Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts

M.B.A. Finance - June 1987

Publications

Books:

Walk With Me: A Biography of Fannie Lou Hamer, Oxford University Press, Sept. 2021.

The Encyclopedia of Harriet Tubman, Rowman & Littlefield, forthcoming 2021.

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park and Monument Historic Resource Study, National Park Service and Organization of American Historians. December 2019.

Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October 2015. New York Times and Wall Street Journal best seller, winner of the Mass Book Award in Nonfiction, 2016, and named one of the Best Biographies of all time by BookBub, 2018. Featured cover story, People Magazine, September 14, 2015, and named one of People Magazine?s top ten books for 2015. Community Reads in 2019 for Pembroke, MA, 2016 for Woburn and Winchester, MA, and 2017, Cayuga County, NY.

The Assassin?s Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln. Basic Books. June 2008.

Bound For the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero. Ballantine Books/One World. 2004. Wall Street Journal best seller, 2016.

Professional and Public History Experience

Consulting

Consulting Historian, Virtual Reality production on Harriet Tubman crossing the Niagara River, 1856. CGO Studios, LA. 2020-21.

Consulting Historian, Augmented Reality customer experience program for four sites along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, Eastern Shore, MD. Timelooper, Inc. 2020.

Consulting Historian, Audio tour script development, for the Harriet Tubman Home and Park, Auburn, NY. 2020

Consulting Historian, and advisory board member, Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglasss documentary films. Stanley Nelson, Director; Firelight Media and Maryland Public Television. 2019-2021. Air dates fall 2021.

Consulting Historian, script review and commentary on HARRIET feature film, Kasi Lemmons, Director and writer, starring Cynthia Erivo, Focus Features Films. Premiered November 1, 2019.

Consulting Historian, script and art review for animated ?I Am Harriet Tubman,? episode for Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum television series for children. PBS KIDS, XR 1 Productions, Inc., Brown Bag Films, and 9 Story Media Group. Air date fall 2020.

Consulting Historian, Curriculum Guide for Harriet feature film. BazanED production. Fall 2019.

Consulting Historian, Soldier of Freedom orientation film for Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State and National Historical Park. Script development and review, consultant for clothing, props, location settings, scene development. Aperture Films. Premiered September 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rs5l6PkGLU&feature=emb_title

Consulting Curator/Historian, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State and National Historical Park, Dorchester County, MD. Exhibit content, resource database development, research, interpretation, script development, educational programming, oral history project, and technical review. 2007-2019.

Consulting Historian, Maryland?s Network to Freedom video production, Maryland Department of Tourism, 2018-2019.

Historical Expert, ?The American Experience: The Confluence of Movements ? Exploring Abolition and Women?s Rights.? A Faith and Politics Institute Pilgrimage to Western, NY. July 20-22, 2018.

Consulting Historian, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, an All-American Road, Dorchester and Caroline counties, MD. Historical content, resource development, tour and map guide development and training, research, interpretation, programming, audio tour and website development and technical review. 2003-2018. www.harriettubmanbyway.org Winner of the 2018 National Association of Interpretation Digital Media Awards.

Consulting Historian, The Kennedys: A Fatal Ambition, two episode documentary series. Elephant Studios, Viacom and Channel 5, producers. London, England. 2018.

Historical Consultant, Episode One of Travel Channel series on geneaology. Spring 2016

Historical Consultant, untitled HBO Original Movie based on Bound for the Promised Land, featuring Viola Davis, co-producers Dreamworks and Juvee Productions, with screenwriter Kirk Ellis. 2015-present.

Historian/Application preparer, twenty-five successful National Park Service Network to Freedom nominations, 2006-2020.

Consulting Historian, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway Audio Tour Guide, mobile application by Toursphere and Audissey Guides, Inc. 2012-2013, 2016. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/harriet-tubman-underground/id649500844?mt=8

Historical Consultant and Featured Historian, The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Award-winning film by Kunhardt McGee Productions,THIRTEEN Productions LLC, Inkwell Films, in association with Ark Media. PBS Fall 2013.

Featured Historian, Real History segment on Mary Surratt. Real News show on The Blaze TV. August 2013.

Consulting Historian, The Journey Begins: Underground Railroad Audio Walking Tour, Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely, MD. Historical content, interpretation, and review for audio tour script. 2012-2013.

Consulting Historian, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway Corridor Management Plan. Historical content and interpretation, site identification and cultural resource identification. Transystems, Inc., for Delaware Department Of Transportation. 2010-2012.

Historical Consultant, Mary Surratt content expert, and website Blogger for The Conspirator, a film by The American Film Company, directed by Robert Redford. www.theamericanfilmcompany.com 2010-2011.

Consulting Historian, The Conspirator: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Lincoln, documentary film project, Tom Jennings Productions for the History Channel, release date March 2011.

Education

University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire

Ph.D. American History – Modern U.S. Women’s and African American History. May 2003

Doctor of Humane Letters (Honoris Causa). May 2016

Simmons College, Boston, Massachusetts

M.A. Liberal Studies (with Distinction), History - May 1995

B.A. Economics/History - May 1980

Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts

M.B.A. Finance - June 1987

Publications

Books:

Walk With Me: A Biography of Fannie Lou Hamer, Oxford University Press, Sept. 2021.

Harriet Tubman: A Guide to Her Life and Work, Rowman & Littlefield, forthcoming 2021.

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park and Monument Historic Resource Study, National Park Service and Organization of American Historians. December 2019.

Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October 2015. New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, winner of the Mass Book Award in Nonfiction, 2016, and named one of the Best Biographies of all time by BookBub, 2018. Featured cover story, People Magazine, September 14, 2015, and named one of People Magazine’s top ten books for 2015. Community Reads in 2019 for Pembroke, MA, 2016 for Woburn and Winchester, MA, and 2017, Cayuga County, NY.

The Assassin’s Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln. Basic Books. June 2008.

Bound For the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero. Ballantine Books/One World. 2004. Wall Street Journal bestseller, 2016.

Selected Professional and Public History Experience

Consulting

Consulting Historian, Virtual Reality production on Harriet Tubman crossing the Niagara River with Joe Bailey, 1856. CGO Studios, LA. 2020-21.

Consulting Historian, Augmented Reality customer experience program for four sites along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, Eastern Shore, MD. Timelooper, Inc. 2020.

Consulting Historian, Audio tour script development, for the Harriet Tubman Home and Park, Auburn, NY. 2020

Consulting Historian, script review and commentary on HARRIET feature film, Kasi Lemmons, Director and writer, starring Cynthia Erivo, Focus Features Films. Premiered November 1, 2019.

Consulting Historian, script and art review for animated “I Am Harriet Tubman,” episode for Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum television series for children. PBS KIDS, XR 1 Productions, Inc., Brown Bag Films, and 9 Story Media Group. Air date fall 2020. (Based on the book by Brad Meltzer, with Chris Eliopoulis, illustrator)

Consulting Historian, Curriculum Guide for Harriet feature film. BazanED production. Fall 2019.

Consulting Historian, Soldier of Freedom orientation film for Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State and National Historical Park. Script development and review, consultant for clothing, props, location settings, scene development. Aperture Films. Premiered September 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rs5l6PkGLU&feature=emb_title

Consulting Curator/Historian, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State and National Historical Park, Dorchester County, MD. Exhibit content, resource database development, research, interpretation, script development, educational programming, oral history project, and technical review. 2007-2019.

Consulting Historian, Maryland’s Network to Freedom video production, Maryland Department of Tourism, 2018-2019.

Historical Expert, “The American Experience: The Confluence of Movements – Exploring Abolition and Women’s Rights.” A Faith and Politics Institute Pilgrimage to Western, NY. July 20-22, 2018.

Consulting Historian, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, an All-American Road, Dorchester and Caroline counties, MD. Historical content, resource development, tour and map guide development and training, research, interpretation, programming, audio tour and website development and technical review. 2003-2018. www.harriettubmanbyway.org Winner of the 2018 National Association of Interpretation Digital Media Awards.

Consulting Historian, The Kennedys: A Fatal Ambition, two episode documentary series. Elephant Studios, Viacom and Channel 5, producers. London, England. 2018.

Historical Consultant, Episode One of Travel Channel series on geneaology. Spring 2016

Historian/Application preparer, twenty-five successful National Park Service Network to Freedom nominations, 2006-2020.

Consulting Historian, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway Audio Tour Guide, mobile application by Toursphere and Audissey Guides, Inc. 2012-2013, 2016. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/harriet-tubman-underground/id649500844?mt=8

Featured Historian, Real History segment on Mary Surratt. Real News show on The Blaze TV. August 2013.

Consulting Historian, The Journey Begins: Underground Railroad Audio Walking Tour, Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely, MD. Historical content, interpretation, and review for audio tour script. 2012-2013.

Consulting Historian, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway Corridor Management Plan. Historical content and interpretation, site identification and cultural resource identification. Transystems, Inc., for Delaware Department Of Transportation. 2010-2012.

Historical Consultant, Mary Surratt content expert, and website Blogger for The Conspirator, a film by The American Film Company, directed by Robert Redford. www.theamericanfilmcompany.com 2010-2011.

Consulting Historian, The Conspirator: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Lincoln, documentary film project, Tom Jennings Productions for the History Channel, March 2011.