The Missing Kennedy: Rosemary Kennedy and the Secret Bonds of Four Women

Throughout her childhood, Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff frequently visited Rosemary Kennedy, President John F. Kennedy’s sister. The author’s aunt, Sister Paulus Koehler, a Franciscan nun, was Rosemary’s devoted caregiver at St. Coletta in Jefferson, Wisconsin. The Missing Kennedy chronicles Rosie’s life along with that of Sister Paulus, and delves into the similarities between the two families. It includes many never-before-seen private photos, 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 twenty years, and what Rosemary was like after her lobotomy.  The author relates how culture and the history of mental illness affected Rosemary’s diagnosis and treatment. Koehler-Pentacoff faces her Aunt Zora’s schizophrenia and how we should relate to those suffering with mental disease. But because of Rosemary’s tragedy, her family changed the way our world treats those with disabilities through legislation, Special Olympics, and other organizations.