Kick audiobook

Kick by Paula Byrne is a 2016 Harper publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Does the fascination with the Kennedy’s ever really fade? This larger than life family, is remembered for their unprecedented success and mark on our country and our lives, but they are also remembered for the heart wrenching tragedies the family has endured. This book is about Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy, the fourth Kennedy child, whose life ended abruptly, and shockingly, at such a young age. While I have always been very curious about the Kennedy assassination, having read many books on the subject, both fiction and non-fiction, I can’t say my interest in the Kennedy family has ever strayed beyond that. I confess to knowing very little about Kathleen Kennedy before starting this book, so for me it has been very enlightening, giving me a different perspective on the family. Kathleen appears to have been a vivacious girl, smart, funny, and full of mischief. She was close to her father, but seemed to have an especially close relationship with her brother, Jack. Despite her life being cut so tragically short, she did appear to live it with gusto, unafraid to tread into unchartered territory, break rules, and was a little scandalous, especially for the time era in which she lived, which did not always please her parents. This accounting of her life is interesting, but, the reading could be dry at times, especially in the beginning with the requisite background on the Kennedy family dynasty. But, as ‘Kick’ grew older, her personality really shined and the book does include some personal stories and excerpts from letters she wrote, which gives the reader a little insight into the type of person she was. I found the latter part of her short life, to be the most interesting and controversial. I think her death was taken very hard by the family, but it was also quickly hushed, as there were some aspects of Kathleen’s death the family would rather not have publicized. While Rose Kennedy has been dubbed, “The Forgotten Kennedy”, I don’t think Kathleen’s life has been examined all that closely either. I gleaned enough information from this book to have whetted my appetite, if you will, and I would like to learn more about ‘Kick’, and perhaps other Kennedy family members, besides JFK. I’m not sure if this book is the most comprehensive accounting of her life, but it gave me enough information and insight to get a pretty clear picture of Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy. Kathleen certainly packed a lot of living into her short life, and was ahead of her time in many ways. She is certainly an interesting figure and I am glad I took the time to learn more about her life. 3.5 rounded to 4

3.5 stars. I'm not a great reader of non-fiction and tend to shy away from it. Unfortunately the first book club pick of the year was the story of Kathleen Kennedy (Kick as she was known), the fourth Kennedy child. What actually drew me into this book was the blurb on the front cover saying she was the heir to Chatsworth House, somewhere I'm very familiar with, having been many times as it was only about an hours drive away from where we lived in Sheffield. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the Kennedys and their lifestyle than I already knew, which wasn't much, just the shear amount of money, the houses, the travelling and partying they did, and also the aristocracy they mixed with just blew me away. The other connection I was surprised to find near he end of the book was Kick's relationship with Peter the Earl of Fitzwilliam, who owned the house Wentworth Woodhouse, now that is an area I know very well and unfortunately you are not able to visit the house, something I've always wanted to do on my numerous visits to the village of Wentworth, very very near where I used to live, and still visit when I head back to see friends and family in Sheffield. Mainly I visit the pub there The Rockingham Arms as they do a great Old Peculiar on draft. However I digress, the only reason I didn't give it four stars was the way it was written annoyed me as the book was mainly made up of quotes from other books and put together to form the story which at times I found very disjointed. Other than that very interesting.

I've read heaps about the Kennedy family but of course not much about Kick. So it was interesting to learn more about her. (Hoping to remedy the same issue with Rosemary as well). I always found it quite fascinating that we kept her over here in the UK and, reading this we learn just how popular she was over here !! She had a lot of very eligible men falling at her feet yet I always thought Eunice was the most pretty Kennedy daughter, though also the most religious. It was interesting reading all the minutiae of her love affair both with Billy and the UK along with the stories of her as a young girl. I was fascinated to read the kids called Joe Daddy but Rose Mother. That gave away a lot of the children's relationships with their parents. There were a lot of funny little sections, mostly quoted from letters, which were nice to read, giving you an insight into the warm relationships the Kennedy siblings shared, especially. As a family they're all or nothing when it comes to longevity, or the lack thereof......they either die young in a tragedy or go on well into their 80s, it seems. There aren't many that fall into that central category. Even spouses of Kennedys do well-their gloss must rub off some way !!Of course there were some sad parts in this, there would have to be with any book Kennedy-related. For me they were the mentions of Rosemary and the loss of Billy, too. So horribly sad. I didn't like to read about Rosemary dancing with a chap hired for the event on her coming-out ball and neither the mention of Kick walking her in Hyde Park, as if she was a dog. I'm unsure whether these remarks were the author's or not but I didn't like them. However, the description of her and Maria was a touching image to consider.So many years were wasted for Kick and Billy and all in the name of religion. A real pity. I have to say that the Cavendish family came out of this very well. They were way less intransigent than Rose Kennedy was as it turned out....AND offered to give her a Catholic funeral as well !! They treated her with more understanding than her Mother without a doubt. Along with also looking after the 2 girls that worked for her. Totally above and beyond. On the other hand, Evelyn Waugh didn't shine. For a "friend" I found him very spiteful quite needlessly and too often.The relationship with Peter was skated over in a few pages, really. We didn't learn much about that at all, although as it was "covered up" at the time I doubt there's much source material to be had. The actual accident was very similar to the one that claimed John Junior's life in 1999 and for the same reasons. It was upsetting to read of their flying through that storm for 28 minutes.....they had to have been too well aware they were doomed.There was barely a mistake in the book, which always pleases me a great deal these days. The odd apostrophe missed and Joe referred to twice when it should've been Billy ! One of the photos has the wrong names beneath it, too-the one at the Vatican.This project the author mentioned sounds highly intriguing. Hope whatever it is materialises.

Highly enjoyable biography of Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, fourth of the nine Kennedy kids. There is a decent amount of material on the early life and marriage of the Kennedy matriarch and patriarch as well. I loved reading and learning about the Kennedy’s, and Kick and all the things she was involved in and her funny with others. She saw and lived through a lot in her young life. I think it’s a great starting place for information on Kick. There wasn’t as much as I would have liked on her after Billy died. I wanted more details than this book was able to give. But overall a very good read!

This biography moves right along and is about so much more than the second oldest Kennedy daughter. I'd like to return to Chatsworth now!

It seems to be the time for books about the Kennedy sisters. Recently, Rosemary: The Hidden Daughter by Kate Clifford Lawson was published and now Paula Byrne's Kick, about Kathleen Kennedy is on the shelves.Not much has been written about Kathleen, the fourth child of Rose and Joseph Kennedy, better known as Kick. She, Joe Jr. and Jack were thick as thieves growing up together. When Joseph Kennedy was named U.S. Ambassador to England, Kick began to blossom.She loved their time in England and when WWII was looming over England, the Kennedy clan returned to America much to Kick's dismay. She had fallen in love with Billy Hartington, the son of the Duke of Devonshire and Chatsworth.The Kennedys were the embodiment of good Catholics and Billy's family were from the Church of England and historically hated Catholics. Though they were madly in love, their marriage would be problematic for all.Kathleen returned home and got a job working at a Washington DC newspaper, and pining for Billy. She found a way back to England as a volunteer for the Red Cross, where she and Billy rekindled their love. Although she risked her mother's wrath, Kick accepted Billy's marriage proposal and married him outside of her deeply felt Catholic faith.They were married for only a few months when Billy was killed in combat. Kick was devastated. She had lost her brother Joe in the war and her brother Jack was nearly killed when his PT-109 boat was destroyed in the Pacific theater.She fought through the pain and eventually began a relationship with Peter Fitzwilliam, a married man. Kick and Peter were killed in a plane crash outside of Paris in 1948.The first half of the book is filled with names, so many that it made my head spin. The book came to life for me in the second half, when Kick goes to England with the Red Cross. Byrne concentrates on Kick more, and the people around her less, and that strengthens the book for me.Not much is known about Kick, or Rosemary, so these two books give us insight into these two ladies from America's most famous family. We see the strife between Rose and Kick over Kick's willingness to marry outside her faith, and Joseph's strong love and belief in his daughter to make her choice, though he disagreed with her.I also liked reading about Kick's job in DC, how she made her way as a curious, intelligent young woman. Her relationship with her brother Jack was an important part of her life, and the death of his two closest siblings just a few years apart must have impacted Jack in a powerful way.I recommend Kick for fans of the Kennedy family, as well as for anyone who likes a memoir about strong women.

I've never been a fan or follower of the Kennedy's but you can't be an American and not be totally ignorant of the dynasty. I knew the least about Kathleen 'Kick' Kennedy and I like biographies and saw this at the library and decided to give it a go. I'm glad I did. It's quite sobering and it made me think a lot more about Jack Kennedy (John F.) of whom I've always had a negative impression. Frankly, I have held a less than robust opinion of most of the Kennedy's because I hold ethics and morality in high esteem and they've seemed to not have much of it. But, we grow older and wiser and learn not to judge so harshly. I think losing a peer/sibling changes one irrevocably. Feelings of survivor's guilt, the taste of bitterness and wrapped in mourning for them as well as yourself. So within a few years of each other, John F. Kennedy 'lost' his sister, Rosemary to a lobotomy, and both his elder brother and his sister (to whom he was closest) in plane crashes. This was just the beginning of the Kennedy tragedies. I felt Paula Byrne did a good job in bringing Kick Kennedy to life. I felt like I got a good idea of her life and times. She lived life to the fullest for her 28 years on this planet. One wonders..........

How fun to have two new Kick books after there's been nothing since Lynne McTaggert's 1984 book. Was disappointed by the Barbara Leaming book. It includes unique stuff from her interview with the old Duke Andrew--but I could not find Kick in Leaming's pages. The effervescent young woman is replaced with carefully-phrased reports from friends who knew her. For me, Byrne has captured Kick. Something that jumps out of the story--the limitations on women. Smart, well-connected Rose Kennedy could best hope for a good marriage. She might want to be an Ambassador to a foreign country, for example--but to achieve that goal, with a family, not very likely. So she gets a fancy, well-off life--and the opportunity to be the Ambassador's wife at the Court of Saint James--but she must by yoked to Joe Kennedy, Sr. to maintain her position. And Joe is such a jerk, his affairs being disrespectful to Rose as well as turning her, and her attempts to have a model Catholic family, into a joke. I wonder if the ambassadorships of Jean Kennedy (a Rose daughter) and Caroline (a Rose granddaughter) were--somehow--a fulfillment of a Rose desire. Despite the above, there is another side to marriages like Rose and Joe's and, perhaps, the Clintons. Clearly Rose and Joe had created something that was far greater than a personal romance between them. More than something resembling a typical family, they created something that more resembled a business or non-profit. As if the image of "The Kennedys" had a power and an objective that it was Rose's job to contribute to the world. Still, Joe's treatment of her--in part because there was such a strong Kennedy image--was an intense broadcast of poor treatment towards women that may have been followed by others. Even today, Maria Shriver stays married to Arnold despite how he has treated her. As Kick's wedding to Billy approaches, and its clear that much grief was heaped upon Kick for the "crime" of even thinking of marrying a non-Catholic, the reader might want to punch someone. Like the mother who has a nervous breakdown (dumping guilt upon her daughter) for fear of her daughter's eternal soul (dumping fear upon her daughter)--and concern that Kick's act will harm the image of the Kennedys as one of America's top Catholic families. What about those sons who were having multiple affairs--and with married woman (breaking a commandant no less)? And Rose herself presenting the lie that her family is a good Catholic family despite her husband's many affairs? Just really anger making. Want to mention Kick's war work--sounds like an ideal: serving doughnuts and sandwiches to GIs, also playing games with them and entering ping pong matches as well as much dancing. Yet the job was so important to lonely boys seeing few young woman and missing American girls. Also it was not without its dangers, given that with all the bombing London was little safer than the front lines.

I don't know which Kick Kennedy biography I prefer, this one or Barbara Leaming's. It's kind of wonderful that after decades without much being written about her life, two biographies got published in the same year.While reading the first few chapters, I thought that I would wind up liking this one far more because I so appreciated that it started from Kick's birth. The Leaming biography began with Kick landing in England in her late teens. I can't even recall if it mentioned that Kick had been there before. It's something I certainly didn't realize until I got to this book. I'd say this one presented the Kennedy clan in a sort of whitewashed manner in the early chapters, but it was still fun to read.My biggest gripe about this book is how fangirly, for lack of a better word, it is. Kick is always the bright-eyed heroine and even potential shortcomings are presented in such a way as to display Kick in the best light possible. All the boys love her and all the girls want to be her friend. I did appreciate that the Leaming biography seemed to show that Kick was what most of us would, for all intents and purposes, call a good and kind person, but still flawed, spoiled, and incredibly self-absorbed. This book presents any flaws, selfishness, or naiveté on Kick's part in a fey, sort of cutesy way. Mary Sue Kick Kennedy shines through often.Despite its issues, I won't deny I found it tons of fun! It is a light, entertaining read that doesn't feel entirely mindless. There's no denying that Kick lived an extraordinary, outsized life in her 28 years and probably was about as close as it comes to a real life Mary Sue. 4 stars

Charming and well written account of Kathleen Kennedy's very short but very full life, easy to read and insightful, telling of her love of London and the struggle to find a way to marry the love of her life Billy, both from different religious backgrounds, it proved an almost impossibility. Tragedy is to strike however as we know but it's been lovely to find out about this effervescent and much loved young Kennedy lady.

What an interesting life Kick lead, and how sad that I haven't heard about her before.

The Kennedy family is often touted as “America’s Royal Family.” President Kennedy’s administration is known as “Camelot” for the mythical England of King Arthur and the Round Table. They have a few things in common with the British Royal Family–in both families, there was a loving father who was a serial womanizer (Edward VII) and the adored Crown Prince (first Prince Albert Victor and then in the next generation, Edward VIII) was “lost” and the second son became the Crowned Prince and eventual King. But in both families it is the women who had the true strength.It was Rose Kennedy (and Queen Alexandra) who lived with their husband’s philandering. It was Rose Kennedy (and Queens Alexandra and Mary) who lost their beloved eldest sons who should have worn the crown. It was Kathleen Kennedy (and Princess Mary and Princess Elizabeth) who served their country in war (Kathleen in the Red Cross, Princess Mary as a nurse and Princess Elizabeth, briefly, as a driver and mechanic). It was the Kennedy women and their tea parties who did the most to elect President Kennedy to each office he held.Kathleen was not, as is often thought, the eldest Kennedy daughter–see was the second, after Rosemary, who later suffered the horrible lobotomy. Kathleen, known as “Kick” was regarded by most as a virtual twin of her brother Jack in both looks and temperament. Both had trouble fully loving anyone, both were risk takers, both lived life in the moment. Unlike Jack, Kick had the devout Roman Catholic faith of her mother, Rose.Like all her siblings, she adored her father, often in spite of his behavior or political views, and feared her mother. Kick and Rosemary (pre-lobotomy) helped secure the family’s fame by being presented to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (best remembered as “The Queen Mother”) in 1938 when Joseph Kennedy was the first Irish Catholic to be America’s Ambassador to Britain. This launched Kick on the social scene of aristocratic Britain. All of the names you hear today around Queen Elizabeth, the Prince of Wales and even Prince William are the parents or grandparents (even great-grandparents) of Kick’s circle.Kathleen was far better educated than many in her circle–not only because of being sent to the convent schools of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart in the US and France. Her “real” education occurred at the fabled Kennedy dinner table were Rose would earlier in the day tack up a newspaper clipping or magazine article or something similar to be the focus of the night’s conversation. After each of the nine children had reported to Father and Mother on his or her day, the conversation began and each child, regardless of age, was expected to have an opinion and defend it on the topic of the day. British aristocrats sons had this education in the Oxford [University] Union debates. Kick had it from birth.This holding of opinions and not being afraid to air them marked her as wildly different from most British upper-class girls who, as Downton’s Dowager Countess of Grantham said, would have opinions once they married and their husbands told them what they were. Kick became a near daughter to the famed American-born female Member of Parliament, Lady Astor of Cliveden [the house that is now the hotel Meghan Markle stayed in the night before her wedding to Prince Harry]. This helped Kick to make a name for herself and to make good friends–among them a young man with a destiny almost as great as that planned for Kick’s eldest brother, Joe, Jr who was to be President.This young man was William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, heir to one of the greatest houses and oldest Dukedoms in Britain. Billy, as the future Duke of Devonshire was known, was the scion of one of the oldest and most vocal protestant families in the country–the Duke of Devonshire having the “living” (i.e. the salary, housing, etc) over 40 Church of England clergy in his estate. It seems inevitable that this man would fall for the very devoutly Roman Catholic Kick, who at this stage of her life believed birth control was murder and that her immortal soul was in danger from many things in life.Sadly, when the war moved from Phoney War to Blitzkrieg, and Joe Kennedy made defeatist statements that got him sent home, Kick had to return with her family to America. She tried to get over Billy. He even became engaged to someone else, briefly. But, he couldn’t get over Kick. That he planned a political career and that she would be an outstanding political wife was not lost on him, but it was her storied vitality that was the true attraction. The couple had spent countless nights sitting up in great country houses talking about everything. They just “knew” they were meant to be together. Finally, after a few years Kick return to England and to Billy. He could not marry a Catholic–his son, should he have one, would eventually be the Duke of Devonshire and MUST be a Protestant. Thanks to a change by the Catholic Church only a few years before, Kick could not marry a Protestant unless he promised all children would be raised Catholic. Impasse. They wrung their hands, they talked, the consulted. Finally, the basically had to just say “to heck with it” and marry in a civil ceremony like Prince Charles and Camilla. Only weeks later, Billy was killed.My ThoughtsI began to wonder if all of Kick’s moralizing about her faith wasn’t a sort of cover for not being sure enough about Billy, but in the end, I decided it was real. Her father and brothers were very worldly, she and her sisters were not. I believe she and Billy truly did love each other. The proof, to me, were the actions of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. They truly welcomed her. That would not have happened if they didn’t mean it. They’d have gone thru the motions for appearance’s sake. They attended the wedding and more–they took Kick as a daughter.But it was after Billy’s death that Kick puzzles me. She was a very young widow which was sad enough. But she was cheated of a grand role in life–Duchess of Devonshire. And the young lady who got it–the wife of yet another second son who became Crowned Prince and King, was the British version of Kick. She was Deborah–Debo Mitford of the famed Mitford sisters. Two of her famous sisters were Nazi’s. One, Unity stalked Hitler until she became his friend and shot herself in a suicide bid (unsuccessfully) when war was declared. Another sister was a Communist. Her only brother, the last heir to a title, was killed in the war. Debo would become THE Duchess of Devonshire–the one who saved Chatsworth, befriended the Prince of Wales and created the Country House Industry.As a widow, a citizen by marriage, she considered standing for Parliament like her surrogate mother, Lady Astor. She planned to use her home as a political salon like Cliveden was before the war. No less than Anthony Eden payed court and was interested in marrying her. Imagine a Kennedy helping navigate the Suez Crisis!! Eden might have survived! He married Churchill’s equally original niece, Clarissa, instead–both ladies were a generation or two younger than Eden.As one friend wrote on her death, she lost her “rudder” when Billy died. So, instead of being a force in British Conservative Party circles (or even wife of a future Prime Minister) she discovered a man like her father. She fell into a passionate love which sounded way, way more like a passionate case of lust. All her hemming and hawing over marriage to Protestant, decent, honorable Billy Hartington went out the window. Not only was Peter, Earl Fitzwilliam, 10 years older but he was married and had a daughter. This did not stop the widowed Kick. Sadly, the two died on a flight that should not have taken off. The young lady who’d thought birth control was murder and all the rest died on a get-away with a rakish lover. Jack Kennedy was so distraught that he could not attend her funeral.It was the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire who honored her with the funeral mass in London–yes, Catholic mass. They then buried her at Chatsworth. Years later, President Kennedy, on his state visit to Ireland, came to Chatsworth by chopper to finally visit his sister’s grave. Bobby Kennedy honored her by naming the eldest of his 11 children “Kathleen Hartington Kennedy” but ordered she was never to be called Kick. Sadly, his order has been forgotten and the current Kathleen Kennedy IS called Kick. That nickname should have been a one-off like the woman who earned it.Did You Know?The Marquess of Hartington was Godfather to Andrew Parker-Bowles.Other Kennedy Book’s I’ve Reviewed.Click the linked title to read the review.Ocean Liner by Marius Gabriel [fiction] a “What if?” story of Rosemary Kennedy https://hopewellslibraryoflife.wordpr...Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Sister by Kate Clifford Larson https://hopewellslibraryoflife.wordpr...