Missing Kennedy (Pentacoff)

Discussion Questions
1. What should have been the correct diagnosis of Rosemary’s pre-lobotomy condition?

2. What quality of life did Rosemary lead after her lobotomy?

3. Why did no one visit Rosemary for more than two decades?

4. In what ways did immense good come from Rosemary’s tragic life?
(Questions from the publisher's press kit.)

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Also consider these LitLovers talking points for further discussion.

5. Talk about young Rosemary—before her symptoms became so severe? What was she like as a child and as a young woman?

6. How much did you know about Rosemary Kennedy before reading this book? What surprised you the most about her history...and about the Kennedy family?

7.  What do you think of Joseph Kennedy, his ambitions and obsessions? Why did he never reveal the truth of Rosemary's lobotomy to the family? What moral issues, if any, are at stake in both making the decision for the lobotomy and in keeping it secret?

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