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52 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but like the author, flawed, November 25, 2005
Christopher Lawford has written a soul-bearing autobiography that spells out his drug addiction, his recovery and his extended family's influence over the years. While it is nicely written and funny on one level, it is revealing on another one...and not on the fortunate side.
Mr. Lawford has lived fifty years of an often confusing life. Born into the Kennedy family he has always seen himself as a "second string" Kennedy....one of those cousins who gets mixed up in the whole clan and lacks an identity. Partly because of this but also owing to his genetic makeup, he turned to drugs at an early age and treaded water for about twenty years before taking the courageous step to take charge of his life. To that end, I give him enormous credit.
There are many problems, however, with this book. It needs serious editing, for instance. Drugs and womanizing are the center of his life, but three hundred pages of this is enough to swamp a manatee. Unhappily for the reader, the final pages are not much more satisfying. Lawford becomes overly preachy about his recovery and then proceeds to recount the dissolution of his marriage. If Christopher Lawford has grown, I don't see much evidence of it. As proud as he is to trumpet to others that he is a Kennedy, it seems he always turns to them at every corner for his needs. They are his enablers and I don't get a picture that this will stop anytime soon, regardless of the author's protestations of becoming an individual apart from his family.
As he often mentions in "Symptoms of Withdrawal", Christopher Lawford has had every advantage in life without much forward success. I wish him well in his continued recovery but also had hoped that this book had been written in a better way.
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
How to Blow a "Charmed" Life, April 17, 2006
A quick scan of the reviews shows this book has been controversial with mixed results. Did I enjoy and/or learn something from this book? Absolutely! Is Mr. Lawford a flawed writer? Without a question. Would I recommend this book? Yes, if you have an interest in the Kennedy legacy particularly, but also if you have an interest in recent history from the 1960s forward, discussions of interpersonal relationships or drug use, or if you have an interest in the phenomenon of celebrity culture.
By now you've probably figured out this is a biography of Christopher Lawford, son of Peter & Pat Lawford, nephew to the Kennedys. Chris gives a good summary of what it is like growing up in a family of celebrities including frequent visits from Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe. Without a question his famous father had a unique charisma. From this idealic life living on the beach in Santa Monica he is quickly shuffled to New York as his parents divorce and his father's influence going forward can only be called flawed at best. Surprisingly, the role of his mother in the book is somewhat silent. Yes, he presents glowing love letters written to his mother but that is balanced by later discussions of her drinking and living abroad with his sisters. Frankly, she comes across as quite distant and one must wonder where she was during the massive drug abuse described.
As to the drug abuse, Chris projects that his best former friend, cousin, and deceased David Kennedy, as well as Robert Kennedy, were active drug users with no real repercussions from the family. Now I know it's much more complex than that but there is not one mention in the entire book of any type discipline! Come on Mom, can't you do anything????? Well, maybe not, as their family seems to have more than their fair share of addicts and other issues.
In my opinion, the person in his story that comes across the best is Ted Kennedy. Described as a typical good natured uncle who attempts to help all of his nephews/nieces in their times of need. And this is the strength of this book. If you want a look inside the Kennedy culture without attempting any salacious juice other than the drug use, then this is it. I think he handled his family legacy very well and have great respect for the nurturing nature EXCEPT THEIR INABILITY TO HELP IN THE RAMPANT DRUG USE OF THE NEPHEWS. Want some John Kennedy stories? It's all here. No dirt. Just admiration for some very famous people he was lucky enough to be related to. And when I say lucky to be related to, I mean most of us are not worried about running down our trust fund on drugs. He was.
Unfortunately, the drug use sections read much too long. Frankly, it almost borders on braggadocio, "look how many drugs I can do without killing myself". But it is sad, compelling and unexplainable. Parents with kids who have abused drugs know how difficult the struggle is. But to read this book from the point of view of the abuser, it makes you wonder what the rest of the family was seeing.
The last part of the book covers his recovery. Sorry, Chris, this is my least favorite part. I'm glad to see he righted his life, but a guy born with so many opportunities, most of which he blew, it's just hard to have much sympathy or pride in his conversion.
In closing, I found this book fascinating and I strongly recommend it if you have some of the interests I mentioned above. Does that mean I liked everything in the book? Not really. And while I may have made some caustic remarks about the author, I must applaud his candor in sharing this compelling story which I found quite engaging.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intense., October 8, 2005
This is one of the most intense books I've read in a while. It's Lawford's account of his life as a Kennedy, Lawford and an addict. The fly leaf sets up the story with the following: What happens when you are born with the American dream fulfilled? I was given wealth, power, and fame when I drew my first breath. Now what?
The first half of the book "packs so much material on his family that a Kennedy-parasite biographer could find a career's worth of stories," writes Janet Maslin of NY Times. Then half way through we descend into the bleak world of addiction. I'm fortunate that drugs, alcohol, and addiction have not played a meaningful role in my life, but I had a few friends who became addicted 20 years ago and I spent years trying to help them before giving up. I lost both of them. As a result, the book had an unbelievable impact on me. I worked my way through the first half slowly -- it was hard to move through it very quickly.
The second half is a story of renewal, as he writes: "For those of you who bought this book for stories about my descent into darkness, the Rat Pack, and the Kennedys - you can stop reading now. For the rest, I'm here to tell you the most interesting part of my story is not what happened in the dark alley but what has happened in the sunlit room." Slowly - Lawford starts to make progress. As the period of time that he's sober and clean lengthens, he starts to address his issues, and some of his real demons. He is incredibly honest, extremely insightful, and admirable in how he takes responsibility for his actions.
This book is a journey, and what a journey it is and as Lawford says has to be read from beginning to end. There's no index...which I thought was brilliant. Five Stars *****
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