Symptoms of Withdrawal: A Memoir of Snapshots and Redemption

From Publishers Weekly [Signature] Reviewed by Sara Nelson Pity the poor shelver who has to decide where to put this book. Does it go with the wall full of Kennedyana, the tell-alls and critiques of the family America loves to hate and hates to love? Or does it go into the ever increasing "recovery" section of the memoir department, packed as it is with tales of debauchery, and finally, painful and hard-won sobriety?Because this offering, by the 50-year-old nephew of President Kennedy, son of the late actor Peter Lawford, and cousin of the late American prince, JFK Jr. (how's that for a legacy to live with?), is both of those things, it is hard to categorize, and harder to resist. There's plenty of dish here, even if it is dish of the gentle, almost old-fashioned variety. (Lawford tells of being taught to do the twist by Marilyn Monroe; of spying, as a 10-year-old, on a former First Lady taking a bath, of partying with Kennedys and Lennons and Jaggers.) But it is also a palpably painful and moving rendition of bad behavior with women and money and drugs, and 20 years of staying sober.If you've read any recovery lit, you already know the drill: the stories of lying and charming and messing up school, jobs and relationships. There's plenty of that, but in Lawford's case, the backdrop against which he misbehaved is in itself dramatic. He writes achingly of his relationship with his cousin David, RFK's son, with whom he regularly did drugs and who died in a Palm Beach hotel room in 1984. (Lawford broke with Kennedy family tradition and named his son for David.) When he arrives high at a family party, the photographic proof turns up in the newspaper—because it was a fundraiser for his uncle Teddy. If this were somebody with a less famous-for-carousing name, you might think he was just another self-dramatizing alcoholic; as it is, Lawford is clearly just recounting his life.Even so, he could come off as obnoxious—were it not for his frankness, humor and self-awareness. Lawford goes out of his way to own, as they say in recovery, his behavior, and while he acknowledges a family tendency, he blames no one but himself. He can also write knowingly and self-deprecatingly about his competitive relationships with his many cousins, his vanity as an actor (he has appeared in films including The Russia House and Mr. North , as well as many television programs but is, by his own admission, no Tom Cruise), and his tendency to refer to his many female conquests as "the most beautiful girl in the world."So where does this book belong? Does it matter? You don't have to care about Kennedys to find this a moving tale of self-discovery and redemption. Whatever else he may have been—son, nephew, cousin, etc.—Christopher Lawford shows himself here to be a writer of talent and grace. 32 pages of photos. (Oct.) Sara Nelson is the Editor-in-Chief of PW. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist Kennedys don't cry. And they don't write tell-all books. So this memoir breaks new ground, although much of the material about the Kennedy second generation has been covered elsewhere, especially in Peter Collier and David Horowitz's The Kennedys: An American Drama (1985). In any case, Lawford, son of actor Peter Lawford and Patricia Lawford, Rose and Joe's sixth child, uses the family primarily as a backdrop to his own drug-filled, angst-driven life. Like his father, Lawford is an actor, and while only a supporting player in so many phases of his life and career, he makes sure that here he has the starring role. Born to wealth and privilege, he freely admits he ran through the money and willingly accepted whatever the family name got him--which was plenty. After his parents' divorce (which removed his father from his life) and the death of his uncle Robert, Lawford, along with several of his male cousins, spiraled downward, with drugs, including heroin, ruling his life. Lawford says he's written this book on his own, and he's done a fine job of it, freely allowing himself to come across as the narcissist he was and in some ways still is, even as he earnestly offers inspirational nuggets he's found on his spiritual path. You know this memoir works when the pages absent Frank, Marilyn, Sammy, and Jackie are every bit as interesting as those where they're featured. Ilene Cooper Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “A moving tale of self-discovery and redemption . . . a writer of talent and grace.” (Publishers Weekly)“Christopher Lawford . . . is in possession of a naturally good style. . . . Three cheers.” (Norman Mailer)“...jazzy, rocking, sometimes dark but, in the end, bright with hope.” (Frank McCourt)“...[an] honest, funny, touching and shocking account...A deeply cautionary tale.” (Tom Hayden)“...a well-written account of growing up surrounded by movie stars and political heavyweights.” (USA Today)“...an engaging memoir of privilege, struggle, and recovery. (Library Journal)“Thoughful, honest, and at times humorous, Lawford’s memoir is recommended...” (Library Journal)“...a frank, funny account of his battle with drugs.” (Newsweek)“SYMPTOMS OF WITHDRAWAL is [Lawford’s] unsparing story of two generations of drug and alcohol addictions.” (Parade)“JFK’s nephew Christopher Kennedy Lawford...spills some family secrets in his new memoir.” (New York Post (Page Six))“Mr. Lawford has taken on his Kennedy heritage with both scrappiness and introspection.” (New York Times)“SYMPTOMS OF WITHDRAWAL is as revealing in tone as it is in detail.” (New York Times)“Mr. Lawford packs so much material into one book...SYMPTOMS OF WITHDRAWAL...has poignant legitimacy.” (New York Times)“A rare and worthy first-person glimpse into the pitfalls of being a Kennedy...” (Kirkus Reviews)“Classier than the usual tell-all; an honest account of a personal pilgrimage through privileged self-destruction.” (Kirkus Reviews)“...the pages absent Frank, Marilyn, Sammy, and Jackie are every bit as interesting as those where they’re featured. ” (Booklist)“...gives good dish.” (Entertainment Weekly)“...a suprisingly candid memoir.” (MSNBC/Newsweek.com)“This book didn’t have to be well-written to be riveting, but it is, nonetheless...” (People)“...the most riveting and accurate details of the celebrated family’s most intimate moments.” (InTouch Magazine)“Written in a style that is both conversational and deeply compelling, humorous as well as harrowing....” (Salon.com)“Vigorously honest...” (Salon.com)“Lawford is so honest...A dishy Kennedy memoir is a rare thing.” (New York Times)“[Lawford’s] candor may cause some Kennedys to wince.” (Boston Globe)“...unlike most Kennedy books, it’s free of an agenda.” (PopEntertainment.com)“Chris Lawford...dishes up plenty of humorous dirt in SYMPTOMS OF WITHDRAWAL.” (Chicago Sun-Times)“Entertaining...[Lawford] is candid.” (Boston Globe)“Lawford is laughing hard at his own stories, and you laugh along with him.” (New York Times Book Review)“More entertaining than most celebrity tell-alls.” (Hartford Courant)“Lawford’s memoirs are a powerful read because of their frank style and brutal honesty.” (Irish Voice) Christopher Kennedy Lawford is the New York Times bestselling author of Symptoms of Withdrawal . He has worked extensively in Hollywood as an actor, lawyer, executive, and producer. He has three children and lives in Marina Del Rey, California. Read more