Born into enormous privilege as well as burdened by gut-wrenching family tragedy, Christopher Kennedy Lawford now shares his life story, offering a rare glimpse into the private worlds of the rich and famous of both Washington politics and the Hollywood elite. A triumphantly inspiring memoir, the first from a Kennedy family member since Rose Kennedy's 1974 autobiography, Lawford's Symptoms of Withdrawal tells the bittersweet truth about life inside America's greatest family legacy. As 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 and movie stars as close relatives and personal friends. Lawford recalls Marilyn Monroe teaching him to dance the twist in his living room when he was still a toddler, being awakened late at night by his uncle Jack to hear him announce his candidacy for president, being perched atop a high-roller craps table in Las Vegas while Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack swapped jokes and threw dice, and other treasured memories of his youth as part of America's royal family. In spite of this seemingly idyllic childhood, Lawford's early life was marked by the traumatic assassinations of his beloved uncles Jack and Bobby, and he soon succumbed to the burgeoning drug scene of the 1970s during his teen years. With compelling realism mixed with equal doses of self-deprecating wit, youthful bravado, and hard-earned humility, Symptoms of Withdrawal chronicles Lawford's deep and long descent into near-fatal drug and alcohol addiction, and his subsequent formidable path back to the sobriety he has preserved for the past twenty years. Symptoms of Withdrawal is a poignantly honest portrayal of Lawford's life as a Kennedy, a journey overflowing with hilarious insider anecdotes, heartbreaking accounts of Lawford's addictions to narcoticsas well as to celebrity and, ultimately, the redemption he found by asserting his own independence. In this groundbreakingly courageous and exceptionally well-written memoir, Lawford steps forward to rise above the buried pain that first led to his addiction, and today lives mindfully by his time-tested mantra: "We are only as sick as the secrets we keep." Symptoms of Withdrawal keeps no secrets and is a compelling testament to the power of truth. 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