Eunice

The Kennedy Who Changed the World

De: Eileen McNamara

Narrado por: Amanda Carlin

In this “revelation” of a biography (USA TODAY), a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist examines the life and times of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, arguing she left behind the Kennedy family’s most profound political legacy.

While Joe Kennedy was grooming his sons for the White House and the Senate, his Stanford-educated daughter, Eunice, was hijacking her father’s fortune and her brothers’ political power to engineer one of the great civil rights movements of our time on behalf of millions of children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Her compassion was born of rage: at the medical establishment that had no answers for her sister Rosemary, at her revered but dismissive father, whose vision for his family did not extend beyond his sons, and at a government that failed to deliver on America’s promise of equality.

Now, in this “fascinating” (the Today show), “nuanced” (The Boston Globe) biography, “ace reporter and artful storyteller” (Pulitzer Prize–winning author Megan Marshall) Eileen McNamara finally brings Eunice Kennedy Shriver out from her brothers’ shadow. Granted access to never-before-seen private papers, including the scrapbooks Eunice kept as a schoolgirl in prewar London, McNamara paints an extraordinary portrait of a woman both ahead of her time and out of step with it: the visionary founder of Special Olympics, a devout Catholic in a secular age, and an officious, cigar-smoking, indefatigable woman whose impact on American society was longer lasting than that of any of the Kennedy men.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“An ace reporter and an artful storyteller, Eileen McNamara has rendered an indelible portrait of a Kennedy sibling every bit as savvy and accomplished as her celebrated brothers. Indispensable.”
—Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast and Margaret Fuller: A New American Life

“What a perfect combination of author and subject. The great Eileen McNamara shows how Eunice was the real deal Kennedy: tough, effective, and committed to social change.”
—David Maraniss, New York Times bestselling author of Barack Obama: The Story

“McNamara gives us what’s been missing in our vision of America’s First Family: a look at the woman who defied Joe Kennedy’s absent expectations for his daughters, an appreciation for how Eunice made the ignored rights of the intellectually disabled into one of the great civil rights causes, and reason to believe the implausible claim that it was Eunice—not her more celebrated brothers Jack, Bobby and Ted—who crafted the Kennedys’ most monumental legacy.”
—Larry Tye, New York Times bestselling author of Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon

“Spectacular! Who better to write such a terrific biography of Eunice Shriver than Eileen McNamara, who devoted her own Pulitzer Prize-winning career giving voice to victims and the disadvantaged. In McNamara’s piercing reporting and lovely prose, the neglected story of the Kennedy brothers’ indomitable sister gets told for the first time.”
—John A. Farrell, author of Richard Nixon: The Life

“An exemplary biography: thoroughly researched, beautifully written, and just the right length. It deserves a wide readership.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Along with providing insights into Eunice’s roles as wife, mother, sister, and daughter, McNamara uses her journalistic prowess to produce a complete and detailed portrait of this spirited and magnetic activist.”
—Booklist

“Compelling.... A clearly written biography crammed full of memorable anecdotes about each of the Kennedys through four generations, about Eunice's influential husband, Sargent Shriver, and about dozens more characters from domestic politics, international diplomacy, and high society.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Outstanding Biography

Eunice Kennedy Shriver was a brilliant, ambitious, compassionate woman who was ahead of her time. She never stopped trying to improve the lives of children who are born with extra challenges--and to show that when some of us do better, we all do better. Within my own family, we have children with special needs who continue to benefit from Eunice's work!

The book is extremely well written. I listened to the audible book at 1.25 speed and found the reader to be excellent.

A Woman Unrecognized

This was a wonderful biography on Mrs Shriver.
I did not know the background of her life all the things she had accomplished. I knew she founded the special Olympian’s and was a champion of the intellectually impaired.
Mrs Shriver gave my father grants for research in the 70s on trying to develop the causes, early identification and possible help for the intellectually impaired. Through the Kennedy Grants and Federal Funding she championed he was able to with a team develop the PKU test. I remember meeting Mrs Shriver at an event First Lady Carter was honoring my father at. Someone had told her I had CP. she said well you look very smart. I told her I was that my father had told me I could do anything anybody else could I might have to get there a different way. She laughed and said that’s just the advice I would have given you. I didn’t know your dad was so smart.

Eunice

Loved learning about all Eunice was involved in and all the changes she made. Loved seeing how she mothered as I had no idea.

Remarkable woman of her time, but a slow listen.

The story of Eunice Kennedy is a compelling one. But the narrator and the story dragged at times.

Eunice is a powerhouse!

The most influential, dynamic and diligent Kennedy was Eunice. She was a mover and a shaker; she made it all happen. Her feisty spirit, her tireless crusading and her complex relationships are inspirational and empowering. I held onto this book in my wish list for far too long and I should have listened to it the day it was released.

Annoying Narrator

Narrator reads this as if she's reading just the words and not sentences. She frequently hesitates and pauses mid-sentence. In some sentences, the meaning of what was written actually changes. This is annoying, but fortunately the story is interesting enough that I am putting up with it, though don't know if I can listen for the full 15 hours.