The revelatory, poignant story of Rosemary Kennedy, the eldest and eventually secreted-away Kennedy daughter, and how her life transformed her family, its women especially, and an entire nation.

"Rosemary (Rosie) Kennedy was born in 1918, the first daughter of a wealthy Bostonian couple who later would become known as the patriarch and matriarch of America's most famous and celebrated family. Elizabeth Koehler was born in 1957, the first and only child of a struggling Wisconsin farm family. What, besides their religion, did these two very different Catholic women have in common? One person: Stella Koehler, a charismatic woman of the cloth...

"In 1908, in Exeter, Rhode Island, a facility opened for the supposed purpose of training mentally challenged men in a variety of trades. There was room for eight inmates. Soon there would be hundreds, including women and children deemed to be feeble-minded. It was all part of an experiment in eugenics; cleansing the state of what was decided to be inferior DNA. --

Presents the disorder known as Down Syndrome, covering such aspects as historical background, medical causes, physical and mental limitations, and development from infancy through adulthood, including sexuality, social skills, and group homes.

An examination of mental retardation, including its history, how it occurs, and methods of education and treatment.

Describes the home and school life of twelve-year-old Leslie, a girl with mental retardation, and discusses mental retardation in general.