Eileen McNamara spent nearly thirty years as a journalist at The Boston Globe, where she won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary and was among the first to raise the alarm about clergy sexual abuse. She is now the director of the journalism program at Brandeis University. She is the author of Eunice, Breakdown, and The Parting Glass (with Eric Roth).
"Eileen McNamara writes with grace, elegance, and diplomacy, never
making moral judgments on harsh facts.... Her fine biography of
Eunice Kennedy Shriver champions the overlooked sister, who
deserves as much, if not more, applause than her celebrated
brothers in establishing the family's monumental legacy."
--Kitty Kelley, The Washington Independent Review of Books
"Eunice: The Kennedy Who Changed the World is, in many ways, a
revelation.... A nuanced portrait of a woman who was brusque yet
charismatic, demanding and at times imperious, but also
down-to-earth.... Eunice offers glimpses of iconic events... but
those much chronicled points in history are not dwelt upon. Because
this is Eunice's story. It's about time."
--USA Today
"[McNamara's] biography is neither a hagiography nor a hatchet job,
but a frank and nuanced assessment of a complicated woman....
Difficult and driven Eunice Kennedy Shriver certainly was, but she
used her prickly personality (and the Kennedy fortune) for the
lasting benefit of others. Famous for her indifference to such
social niceties as good grooming and good manners, she would likely
have appreciated Eileen McNamara's forthright portrait."
--The Boston Globe
"McNamara has written a fair-minded, well-reported book. The
Shriver children wisely trusted her and opened up Eunice's papers,
allowing McNamara to deliver a sensitive, nuanced portrait."
--The Washington Post
"Fascinating.... A great, great read."
--The Today Show
"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)
"An exemplary biography: thoroughly researched, beautifully
written, and just the right length. It deserves a wide
readership."
--Publishers Weekly
"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
"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
"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
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