Here is Bach's Cantata BMW 169 "Gott soll allein mein Herze haben"
Once again, Josh and I visited the pet store for fish and came home with two Lovebirds. Someone needed to re-home and now they're mine. Meet Toot and Puddle. I named them after two favorite characters in a series of children's books I used to read to my son when he was little. In the book, Toot and Puddle are pigs, but Puddle surprises Toot with a birthday present and guess what? It's a parrot! I believe those stories are what sparked my desire in getting my own feathered babies.
Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford LarsonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
The true life tragedy of Joe and Rose Kennedy's oldest daughter.
Rosemary was a beautiful child, but by the time of her adolescence, her parents realized that she was not developing normally. As it was customary to do back then, she was institutionalized. However, this was not enough for her father, Joe Kennedy. He decided that she needed to be improved in order to fit in with his super-achieving brood of future politicians and movers and shakers in the world.
Rosemary ended up getting a lobotomy. Whatever limited mental and emotional skills she might have had were obliterated.
Larson's moving biography details the birth and life of Rosemary Kennedy, starting with her parents, how they met and the traumatic birth of their first daughter. She takes us step by step through Rosemary's childhood, adolescence, young adulthood and eventual confinement inside an institution. Ironically, she outlived most of her family.
Larson exposes the ignorance towards people with special needs and the lack of resources. And this is where her biography shows not just a tragedy but how humans rise above personal sorrow and adversity. One of Rosemary's sisters as well as her brother Jack became determined to change the living conditions and standards for people like their sister Rosemary. They initiated charitable organizations, contributing thousands of dollars to provide help for others with similar challenges.
Their sister Rosemary was shut away and hidden. A secret to be ashamed of. Thanks to siblings and also nieces and nephews, others won't have to suffer a similar fate.
Larson does a credible and interesting job of not only informing us of this least known member of the Kennedy clan but also provides a good amount of information of the other Kennedy siblings and her parents. No one is one dimensional. Some of them acted in despicable ways, especially her father and her mother could at times be selfish, but Larson also shows when they were capable of compassion. Some of their actions were simply because they were risen in a certain time period that was steeped in ignorance towards the mentally challenged, emotionally disturbed, or mentally ill. Even the author, Arthur Miller, institutionalized his son who had Down's Syndrome.
All in all a pretty comprehensive job of recording a time period, a famous family and, most significantly, an under-reported member of that family.
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Window shopping and catching some Jazz players jamming it up Saturday night, in New Orleans, last Labor Day weekend.
18 comments:
Great review, Sharon. I want to read this someday, but it makes me so angry and sad. Some of these lobotomy patients were in no ways able to understand, let alone consent to, these awful procedures. This and the eugenics movement are more than enough reason we should never trust science implicitly.
On a happier note, the new members of your family look very sweet. <3
Hi Sharon. When my mother was alive she used to follow the Kennedy’s personnel lives she would occasionally talk about Rosemary. What a sad story. At least there has been some progress in learning how to deal with this.
Toot and Puddle are cute.
Have a great week!
Wow. How interesting. It's so unbelievable and painful to know all those lobotomies, and the lack of understanding of those with special needs.
So many people have been and continue to be “treated” as if they were expendable .... institutionalization continues but you’d never notice because they’re out of sight and out of mind .... perhaps your review will help people want to know more about the unknown ....
i've heard that old Joe was pretty adamant and unforgiving... four new family members!! the fish look happy, but the para's need to settle in, by appearances anyway... i see the clarinet player in the picture: i used to do stuff like that haha... comprehensive review, tx...
Hi Marion!
I agree. That's why we cannot be too self-righteous at other countries, like Germany. We have people in our own past and even today who believe in eugenics or as they call it today, "pro-choice" and "die with dignity."
Hi Brian!
I am also glad that today we can accept people who have challenges or are different in some way. We don't just put them in the "slow" room at school or have them shut away. We have so many resources to help them be functioning, productive members of society.
Also, though, Joe Kennedy wanted his family to be perfect, which is why he was willing to put his child through a lobotomy and hide her afterwards.
HI Sylvia,
It's true. Things weren't dealt with as they are today. People who were different needed to be hidden away and never talked about. I'm sure there are those who did not do that, but it seems it was more common than it should have been.
Hi R.T. It does seem that we don't teach ourselves to deal with people that are different. If an adult is slow or has mental or emotional problems people don't want to associate with them.
However, at the same time, I think there is greater recognition of mental and emotional conditions and better treatment and medication which allows people with challenges to successfully integrate with society.
Hi mudpuddle
Don't let that photo deceive you. Those two little T Rexes took over as soon as they were let out of their boxes. They're feisty little things, but adorable.
What a sad and tragic story! I hadn't heard of Rosemary and now I know why.
I love your birds! I had a lovebird once named Shadow who I trained to poop in the toilet, and I taught her to come. They are so smart! Enjoy them!
Sharon this book must have been a hard book to read because of such a sad situation. Thank you for sharing your review. Hope you have a great week. Hugs!
Hi Cleo. I had heard of Rosemary Kennedy before so I wanted to learn more about her.
Thanks, I love my birdos. Lovebirds are really smart. I haven't figured out how to potty train birds, although I've heard you can. I spend a lot of time cleaning up and I have parrot shirts I wear in my house (old t-shirts) and nice shirts that I go out in public in.
Hi Debbie!
This book is really tragic, because Rosemary wasn't very challenged, but her father couldn't deal with any imperfections so,in an effort to make her "perfect" he made her little better than a vegetable.
Thanks for reading my review.
Have a great week!
How sad! It reminds me that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was used indiscriminately and for unsuitable conditions in the past. Not as severe as a lobotomy!! but still pretty awful.
Wonderful review, thank you. I have had this book on my TBR for ages, and still have not gotten to it. You review has encouraged me that I was right to choose and it and will get reading ASAP!
Hi Carol. I had a friend who underwent electroshock therapy and lost her short term memory. Horrifying.
Hi Sarah,
Considering the genre of books you like to read, I think this book is right up your alley. Be prepared to be sad and angry.
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