Main description:

The firstborn child of famed Rat Pack actor Peter Lawford and Patricia Kennedy, sister to John F. Kennedy, Christopher Kennedy Lawford grew up with presidents, senators, and movie stars as close relatives and personal friends. When he was a toddler, Marilyn Monroe taught him how to dance the twist. He recalls being awakened late at night to hear his uncle Jack announce his candidacy for president. His early life was marked by the traumatic assassinations of two beloved uncles—and during his teen years, he succumbed to the tragic allure of the 1970s drug scene.

Symptoms of Withdrawal is Lawford's unflinchingly honest portrayal of his life as a Kennedy—a journey overflowing with hilarious insider anecdotes, heartbreaking accounts of his addictions to narcotics as well as to celebrity, and, ultimately, the redemption he found by asserting his own independence.

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“...[an] honest, funny, touching and shocking account...A deeply cautionary tale.”

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“...a frank, funny account of his battle with drugs.”

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“...a suprisingly candid memoir.”

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“...a well-written account of growing up surrounded by movie stars and political heavyweights.”

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“...an engaging memoir of privilege, struggle, and recovery.

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“...gives good dish.”

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“...jazzy, rocking, sometimes dark but, in the end, bright with hope.”

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“...the most riveting and accurate details of the celebrated family’s most intimate moments.”

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“...the pages absent Frank, Marilyn, Sammy, and Jackie are every bit as interesting as those where they’re featured. ”

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“...unlike most Kennedy books, it’s free of an agenda.”

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“[Lawford’s] candor may cause some Kennedys to wince.”

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“A moving tale of self-discovery and redemption . . . a writer of talent and grace.”

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“A rare and worthy first-person glimpse into the pitfalls of being a Kennedy...”

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“Chris Lawford...dishes up plenty of humorous dirt in SYMPTOMS OF WITHDRAWAL.”

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“Christopher Lawford . . . is in possession of a naturally good style. . . . Three cheers.”

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“Classier than the usual tell-all; an honest account of a personal pilgrimage through privileged self-destruction.”

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“Entertaining...[Lawford] is candid.”

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“JFK’s nephew Christopher Kennedy Lawford...spills some family secrets in his new memoir.”

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“Lawford is laughing hard at his own stories, and you laugh along with him.”

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“Lawford is so honest...A dishy Kennedy memoir is a rare thing.”

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“Lawford’s memoirs are a powerful read because of their frank style and brutal honesty.”

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“More entertaining than most celebrity tell-alls.”

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“Mr. Lawford has taken on his Kennedy heritage with both scrappiness and introspection.”

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“Mr. Lawford packs so much material into one book...SYMPTOMS OF WITHDRAWAL...has poignant legitimacy.”

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“SYMPTOMS OF WITHDRAWAL is [Lawford’s] unsparing story of two generations of drug and alcohol addictions.”

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“SYMPTOMS OF WITHDRAWAL is as revealing in tone as it is in detail.”

Review q“Written in a style that is both conversational and deeply compelling, humorous as well as harrowing....”