The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy

by Jean Kennedy Smith

Overview

In this evocative and affectionate memoir, Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, the last surviving child of Joe and Rose Kennedy, offers an intimate and illuminating look at a time long ago when she and her siblings, guided by their parents, laughed and learned a great deal under one roof.

Prompted by interesting tidbits in the newspaper, Rose and Joe Kennedy would pose questions to their nine children at the dinner table. "Where could Amelia Earhart have gone?" "How would you address this horrible drought?" "What would you do about the troop movements in Europe?" It was a nightly custom that helped shape the Kennedys into who they would become.

Before Joe and Rose’s children emerged as leaders on the world stage, they were a loving circle of brothers and sisters who played football, swam, read, and pursued their interests. They were children inspired by parents who instilled in them a strong work ethic, deep love of country, and intense appreciation for the sacrifices their ancestors made to come to America. "No whining in this house!" was their father’s regular refrain. It was his way of reminding them not to complain, to be grateful for what they had, and to give back.

In her remarkable memoir, Kennedy Smith—the last surviving sibling—revisits this singular time in their lives. Filled with fascinating anecdotes and vignettes, and illustrated with dozens of family pictures, The Nine of Us vividly depicts this large, close-knit family during a different time in American history. Kennedy Smith offers indelible, elegantly rendered portraits of her larger-than-life siblings and her parents. "They knew how to cure our hurts, bind our wounds, listen to our woes, and help us enjoy life," she writes. "We were lucky children indeed."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062444240
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/27/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	277
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Jean Kennedy Smith  is the former United States Ambassador to Ireland and founder of VSA, an international organization that provides arts and education opportunities for people with disabilities and increases access to the arts for all. Smith was named an honorary citizen of Ireland by Irish President Mary McAleese for her contribution to the Irish peace process, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in recognition of her service to people with disabilities. The eighth of nine children born to Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy and Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., Smith is a mother of four and the widow of the late Stephen Smith. She lives in New York.

Table of Contents

Prologue: The White House by the Sea 1

1 "No Whining in This House" 7

2 The Nine of Us 17

3 "No Irish Need Apply" 37

4 Closet Castaways 53

5 Faith, Values, and Hard Work 67

6 Grandma and Grandpa Fitzgerald 85

7 The Ocean in Our Veins 99

8 Our Jewel 109

9 On the Town with Dad 129

10 A Life Full of Lessons 145

11 Alone with Mother 163

12 The Dinner Discussion 175

13 Teddy 185

14 Daily Walks 193

15 Forever Changed 205

16 A Long Way from Bronxville 217

Epilogue and the Beat Goes On 237

Acknowledgments 255

Image Credits 259

Editorial Reviews

She was the eighth and penultimate child of Joseph and Rose Kennedy, shyer than most of the others, a sidekick to her siblings. Now, as Jean Kennedy Smith notes in her wistful memoir, The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy, she's the only one left. That's reason enough to dip into this graceful if gossamer book…We can rue how much goes unsaid here, even about those Hyannis Port summers of the l930s and l940s. Or we can concede that the last Kennedy of her generation has the right to tell the story she wishes, and let it go at that. Slim as this volume is, it still makes for engaging reading—say, on a front porch by the sea, in that quiet time after lunch when the Kennedy children, at their parents' insistence, read in their rooms every day, before the years when they lit up the sky.

The New York Times Book Review - Michael Shnayerson

08/22/2016
Smith is the last remaining child of Joseph and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, and her tender memoir recounts the family's early home life. Smith is the former U.S. ambassador to Ireland and a founder of VSA, an international organization providing arts and education opportunities for people with disabilities. Her narrative takes readers back in time to the 1930s–1950s, when the now nearly mythic Kennedy family consisted of two devoted parents and their nine children. Smith includes a chapter on the prejudice against the Irish that Smith's great-grandparents experienced, and their subsequent rise within Boston society. She concludes her narrative as her brother Jack becomes the president of the United States. In between, Smith divulges domestic routines and rules; chronicles the family's love of the ocean and sports, especially touch football, sailing, and tennis; and explores her mother's insistence upon "cultivation of the mind" and learning about the world. Conversations during family dinners focused on current events or history. Smith sprinkles numerous family photos and quotes throughout the narrative, providing additional dimension. This is a sweet and loving look back at the Kennedy family, written from the perspective of a daughter as well as a sister. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Rhis book, filled with childhood photos and reminiscences, is an engaging look at a large, close-knit family in the 1930s and '40s, albeit one more privileged than most. No doubt some of these anecdotes have been told before, but hearing them from the last surviving Kennedy sibling gives them an added poignancy.” — Providence Journal

“There are useful lessons here, not just for grandchildren but for Americans as a whole, especially those who might wonder how the Kennedys so captured the popular imagination.” — Chicago Tribune

From the Publisher

Rhis book, filled with childhood photos and reminiscences, is an engaging look at a large, close-knit family in the 1930s and '40s, albeit one more privileged than most. No doubt some of these anecdotes have been told before, but hearing them from the last surviving Kennedy sibling gives them an added poignancy.

Providence Journal

There are useful lessons here, not just for grandchildren but for Americans as a whole, especially those who might wonder how the Kennedys so captured the popular imagination.

Chicago Tribune

There are useful lessons here, not just for grandchildren but for Americans as a whole, especially those who might wonder how the Kennedys so captured the popular imagination.

Chicago Tribune

09/01/2016
In this memoir of individual vignettes, Kennedy Smith, former U.S. ambassador to Ireland and the last living sibling of former president John F. Kennedy, recounts the stories of her family, especially those formed at their summer home in Hyannis Port, MA. While the author briefly discusses the siblings' later years, the bulk of the book centers on their upbringing. The short, nostalgic accounts feature less of the author's own experiences, instead spotlighting how other family members impacted her life. Narrating the specific influences of their parents, who encouraged each child to think for themselves, she illustrates how each was groomed to make a difference in the lives of others. With tales of touch football, local sailboat races, and the brief time the children spent in Britain when their father was appointed ambassador, this memoir relates the siblings' impressive lives together, providing a look into the childhoods of one of the most influential political families, before they became adults who took on the world. VERDICT This quick read will appeal to history buffs, Kennedy enthusiasts, and casual readers who enjoy lighter biographies. [See Prepub Alert, 4/25/16.]—Stacy Shaw, Orange, CA

Library Journal

Narrator Lorna Raver narrates this memoir with such believable tones of nostalgia and love that listeners may believe this is Jean Kennedy Smith herself reading. One of the youngest in the notable Kennedy clan, she describes scenes and squabbles from her early life—playing games, reading, sailing, learning, and getting the most out of their days. Smith certainly had a front-row seat on many historical moments, but Raver’s performance reminds listeners that Smith’s famous family members were beloved parents, spouses, brothers, sisters, and children, and that their untimely deaths still cause Smith pain. However, the production, like Smith herself, focuses on moving forward, and these enjoyable reminiscences will appeal to a wide swath of listeners. A.F. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2017 - AudioFile

2016-07-26
Fond memories from the last surviving child of Joseph and Rose Kennedy.Smith, the eighth of her parents’ nine children, offers a warm portrait of her happy childhood, when she reveled in the company of her brothers and sisters, guided by her inspiring, supportive parents. Born in 1928, she grew up in their Bronxville home, where the family moved from Brookline, Massachusetts, to be closer to Joseph Kennedy’s work in Manhattan, and in their beloved summer house in Hyannis Port, on Cape Cod. “Saltwater was in our blood,” she writes, “in our genes.” Smith portrays Joe as a devoted father and husband who “flooded us with affection” and enjoyed nothing more than dinner—promptly served at 7:15—surrounded by his adoring clan. Dinner conversation veered toward politics, with “a lighthearted game” that consisted of quizzes about what each child would do if confronted with one political problem or another. Both parents instilled in the children a sense of service and responsibility; Rose was a stickler for lessons, which she felt “strengthened our knowledge and resolve.” These included music, sports, art, languages, and whatever “subject and hobby that interested us, and even some that did not.” Managing nine children involved discipline and organization. Anyone who disobeyed was sent to Rose’ clothes closet for punishment. She guided the children’s mealtime and bedtime prayers, and she kept track of their “vital statistics” on index cards, which she updated each week. Smith idolized her older brothers Joe (who was her godfather) and Jack (godfather to Teddy); her closest playmate was Teddy, the last born; and she adored her elegant sisters Kick and Pat. Smith defends her parents’ decision to treat Rosemary’s “anxieties” and “agitation” with a lobotomy, which went “tragically wrong.” As with other losses and crises, the family “could do only one thing in the aftermath: move forward.” The author’s idealized view of her family counters many biographical portraits of the Kennedys. As the family photos illustrating this memoir attest, for Smith, all was sunshine, smiles, and elegance.

Kirkus Review