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An unauthorized new biography of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. details the highs and lows of the famous Kennedy-turned-Health Secretary.
In a book titled RFK JR.: The Fall and Rise, released April 14 by HarperCollins, New York Post investigative reporter and author Isabel Vincent uses accounts from Kennedy’s personal diary to describe the intimate details of the controversial figure’s life, from the pressure he felt to protect his political family’s legacy, his grief after the assassinations of his father and uncle, and his trajectory from suspended student to environmental activist. From lawyers to ministers.
The diary contains more than 1,200 pages of entries and was obtained in 2013 from a “reliable source,” Vincent wrote. The source was a friend of Kennedy’s second wife, Mary Richardson, who died by suicide in 2012. According to sources, Kennedy’s late wife is said to have received the magazine “as insurance” during their tumultuous divorce.
President Kennedy has not publicly commented on the book, but he previously acknowledged the Post’s publication in 2013 of some details from the 2001 journal, calling the diary “a tool for self-examination and dealing with mental conflicts.” “The Fall and Rise” also includes journal details for 1999 and 2000.
Representatives for Kennedy did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment about the book and its contents.
The biggest points are:
RFK Jr.’s struggle with addiction detailed in new book
According to the book, Kennedy was already experimenting with drugs such as amphetamine pills and LSD when he was 15 years old, and years later wrote about doing “acid, meth, and dope.”
Heroin came next, and he introduced his younger brother David to heroin, David previously told a Kennedy biographer. David later died of an overdose.
The late biographer David Horowitz said in the book, “When David was 13, Bobby held him down and gave him heroin. Bobby was the mastermind.”
Kennedy was suspended and expelled from various schools early in his life, due in part to drugs. He was also arrested on suspicion of selling joints to an undercover police officer.
By the time he entered college, he was a “serious drug user” and a dealer in cocaine, heroin, and a mixture of the two called “speedball,” according to the book.
His drug use continued after his first marriage, and he visited rehab facilities multiple times after being arrested for heroin possession, it adds.
Kennedy’s “The Devil of Desire”
The book also highlights Kennedy’s relationships with women, with pages detailing how he battled what he called “the demon of desire.”
The book alleges how he cheated on his first wife (Emily Black) with his second wife (Richardson), his second wife with his third and current wife (actress Cheryl Hines), and there were numerous acts of infidelity throughout. The book also describes what appeared to be a record of his conquests in the back of his diary, which contained the names of women and numbers from 1 to 10 indicating various sexual acts. At times, Vincent wrote, he received as many as three entries a day, including one with an exclamation point added to the word “victory.”
He also referred to random sexual encounters as “robbers,” which is a colloquial term. “I got robbed on my way home,” he wrote in one entry. “I have to try harder.”
During the 1999 trip, he wrote, “I was able to get through a difficult week without taking any action…I’m proud of myself because sirens were on every rock out there.”
revelations about his own health
In addition to describing his vocal challenges with paroxysmal dysphonia, the book also documents some of Kennedy’s own health challenges, including atrial fibrillation and irregular heart rhythms he experienced in 2001. Kennedy’s heart disease began in his 20s, he said in a deposition related to his second divorce.
”It happened in college…I feel like I have a bag of bugs in my chest. I feel it as soon as it wears off,” he said, adding that he had to avoid caffeine and stress, but the condition caused short-term memory loss. Studies have linked atrial fibrillation to cognitive decline.
Afterwards, he said he had severe heart palpitations, which caused him to seek medical attention. “I underwent an electrocardiogram,” he wrote, adding that he was given a blood thinner injection and another drug that could lead to heart failure. Doctors don’t usually prescribe this treatment, but his doctor said, “I know I won’t tell him.” President Kennedy, known these days for his “Make America Healthy Again” movement, has taken controversial positions on many health issues, including vaccines, and these topics have not always been in line with scientific consensus.
Kennedy was also diagnosed with hemochromatosis. Hemochromatosis is a genetic disease that causes excessive iron absorption and can cause liver and heart damage.
Kennedy wrote that the diagnosis “may explain my heart problems,” which he described as being “like a gerbil cage for several hours a day.” He added that high iron levels were also detected after a blood test revealed hepatitis C, and pointed out that around the same time he was suffering from “Captain Winkie” problems, a slang term for erectile dysfunction. Research shows that iron imbalances can cause problems with sexual function.
his take on famous friends
Kennedy has been associated with many celebrities over the years, and in his book he mentions connections with Jeffrey Epstein, Taylor Swift, Leonardo DiCaprio, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and more. Part of the diary in this book also contains unfiltered thoughts about famous people in his circle.
- bill clintonabout a year after his impeachment over his affair with Monica Lewinsky, said, “He looked like a playboy: tanned, healthy, well-spoken, laughed a lot, very charming.” But following Clinton’s controversial pardon, Kennedy changed his tune, saying, “I defended her against everyone on every issue and never wavered…but now I’m fed up.[Clinton]is a really flawed person.”
- andrew cuomo“Andrew could win because he’s totally focused and energetic. He could lose because he lacks humanity and doesn’t love people. He’s not a retail politician,” Cuomo, his brother-in-law after marrying his sister Kelly, said in his first run for governor.
- Laurie David, Larry David and friend Julia Louis-Dreyfus1999, After Dinner: “I’m crazy about these guys.” Of David’s wife Laurie, he wrote in particular, “I love her energy and dedication and humor.” The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” stars took part in introducing Kennedy to Cheryl Hines, but their friendship has since appeared to be on the rocks due to political divisions.
- rob reiner: “Reiner was a lot of fun and helpful as always.”
- john wilburthe former football star marveled at Kennedy’s luck with women: “It always amazes me,” he wrote. “His head is shaped like a football and his ears are shaped like blimp wings, but he…always succeeds. He calls it his ‘hot body.'”
- president bush After the 9/11 attacks, he said, “Our president is a fool and a puppet, and it hurts to watch him on TV…He’s such a simple man. It hurts to have him as our leader, and I know that the dark forces in his administration will take advantage of this national tragedy…”
- Rudy Giuliani: “I like his violent, forbidding personality and narrow eyes.”
RFK Jr.’s long list of strange pets
While Kennedy’s history with falconry is well known (he had his own falcon by the age of 11), the book also outlines other strange pets kept in his childhood home.
According to the book, these included a sea lion named Sandy who lived in one of the house’s pools and was fed fresh mackerel, and who was roaming the neighborhood with a pack of dogs and causing traffic jams. After the incident, Sandy was donated to the Washington National Zoo.
After traveling to Africa in 1964, Kennedy returned home with a 16-pound leopard tortoise that he reportedly brought back in a Gucci suitcase. This leopard tortoise had lived in the home for over 20 years.
Kennedy was also gifted a lion cub at one point and took it to a boarding school that had a zoo on the grounds before being expelled.
