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.

Symptoms of Withdrawal: A Memoir of Snapshots and Redemption

Biographies & Memoirs

Lawford, Christopher Kennedy

Memoirs

William Morrow

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 both Washington politics and the Hollywood elite. 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.
In spite of a 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. 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 narcotics as well as to celebrity and, ultimately, the redemption he found by asserting his own independence.

Symptoms of Withdrawal CD

HarperAudio

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.

Arts & Literature

Harpercollins

Christopher Kennedy Lawford’s New York Times bestselling memoir, Symptoms of Withdrawal, offered readers a startling, first-hand look at his own addictions to drugs and alcohol, prompting People magazine to write, “Few have written so well about the joy of drugs, and few are as unsparing about their drug-driven selfishness.” In his bestselling follow-up, Moments of Clarity, Lawford presents “Voices from the Front Lines of Addiction and Recovery.” With contributions from Tom Arnold, Alec Baldwin, Meredith Baxter, Jamie Lee Curtis, Richard Dreyfuss, Anthony Hopkins and many others, Moments of Clarity is an important addition to the literature of recovery.

Moments of Clarity: Voices from the Front Lines of Addiction and Recovery

Community & Culture

In his New York Times bestselling memoir, Symptoms of Withdrawal, Christopher Kennedy Lawford chronicled his deep descent into near-fatal drug and alcohol addiction, and his subsequent hard-won journey back to sobriety, which he has maintained for more than twenty years. The overwhelming response his book received impressed upon Lawford the number of people struggling to find their own way back from addiction and the need to share their stories. The histories gathered here are the recollections of lives snatched back from the brink of a precipice so wide and deep it threatened to engulf them. Moments of Clarity includes stories from men and women, young and old, across all barriers of celebrity, color, and class. Represented in these pages are the singer and the actress, the writer and the anchorman, the man from the movie screen and the woman who lives down the street. This book brings together a myriad of different moments, all with the common understanding of where these men and women have been and where they must go. As they bravely share their stories, they shed light not only on their own experiences but also on the journey we all take as human beings who are trying to make sense of our world.

Religion & Spirituality

William Morrow Paperbacks

William Morrow Large Print

Get the facts about Hepatitis C Having hepatitis C can be a transformative, extremely tough experience—especially without the right information. Healing Hepatitis C remedies that by combining the personal story of Christopher Kennedy Lawford, who unknowingly contracted the virus during his years of drug use, with the medical expertise of Dr. Diana Sylvestre, who has devoted her career to treating hepatitis C sufferers. Together they deal with the stigma and misinformation, and the fears and frustrations of this illness. Healing Hepatitis C serves as a valuable sourcebook for medical and treatment information: from what hepatitis C is to what it does, and from what to expect during treatment to how to communicate with your physician, to finding the support you need. Most of all, it walks you through the process of facing the diagnosis and treatment head-on, showing you that it is possible to get through hepatitis C—to be cured of it—without surrendering your life to it. Together Lawford and Sylvestre offer hope, humor, and medical expertise to help patients, their friends, and families navigate the numerous challenges of hepatitis C virus education, testing, and treatment.

Healing Hepatitis C: A Patient and a Doctor on the Epidemic's Front Lines Tell You How to Recognize When You Are at Risk, Understand Hepatitis C ... C, and Advocate for Yourself and Others

Growing up on a pork farm, it seemed unlikely that Doug Tieman would reach his goal of becoming a CEO by the time he was 40, but he did. By applying the lessons that he shares in this book and by working hard, he succeeded. After 25 years of working in the addictions field, Tieman entered his own personal recovery. That experience gave him an even greater understanding of the stories he had heard from others in recovery who shared what they went through and the efforts they made to pursue a life of abstinence. He also realized that lessons that apply to life, career achievement and recovery aren't all that different from one another. Tieman believes that one of the issues many people face is an inability to conceptualize and take methodical steps towards actualizing career goals. He also believes that if more people in recovery could do that, it would bring them to a new level of success that ultimately might benefit the entire addictions field. And that's exactly what this book succeeds in doing for its readers.

Flying Over the Pigpen: Leadership Lessons from Growing Up on a Farm

Business & Money

Tieman, Doug

Business Culture

Recover to Live: Kick Any Habit, Manage Any Addiction: Your Self-Treatment Guide to Alcohol, Drugs, Eating Disorders, Gambling, Hoarding, Smoking, Sex and Porn

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Addiction & Recovery

BenBella Books

New York Times bestselling author Christopher Kennedy Lawford revisits addiction in his latest book, What Addicts Know, this time framing the discussion in an entirely new waythe lessons addiction and recovery offer to those of us who haven’t battled addiction. For too long, society has considered addicts as an unfortunate group that faces incredible and unique challenges. The reality is that the challenges of the addict are facedto a greater or lesser extentby all of us. In a more is better” society, it’s indisputable that we’ve all experienced cravings and denied the truth about our destructive behaviorstraits shared by addicts who’ve successfully overcome them. What Addicts Know offers the coping and wellness skills necessary to overcome life’s obstacles and self-improvement tips for everything from conquering an unhealthy consumption of junk food, to overcoming toxic relationships. These techniques are not just for addicts; they are for all of us. No one until now has related the lessons and life skills that can be drawn from the collective experience of people in recovery from addiction, particularly the ways those lessons or principles can be used by those in the broader non-recovery community. In What Addicts Know, Lawford recounts the inspiring stories and wisdom of recovering addicts, combining them with cutting-edge scientific findings to give hands-on, practical techniques for recognizing unhealthy impulses and managing them. If you’re ready to change for the better your habits, your frame of mind, your relationships, your community, and your life, What Addicts Know is the resource that will educate and inspire you along the way.

What Addicts Know: 10 Lessons from Recovery to Benefit Everyone

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lawford, Christopher Kennedy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Lawford, Christopher Kennedy

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lawford, Christopher Kennedy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Symptoms of Withdrawal: A Memoir of Snapshots and Redemption

Symptoms of Withdrawal CD

Symptoms of Withdrawal: A Memoir of Snapshots and Redemption

Moments of Clarity: Voices from the Front Lines of Addiction and Recovery

Moments of Clarity: Voices from the Front Lines of Addiction and Recovery

Moments of Clarity: Voices from the Front Lines of Addiction and Recovery

Healing Hepatitis C: A Patient and a Doctor on the Epidemic's Front Lines Tell You How to Recognize When You Are at Risk, Understand Hepatitis C ... C, and Advocate for Yourself and Others

Flying Over the Pigpen: Leadership Lessons from Growing Up on a Farm

Recover to Live: Kick Any Habit, Manage Any Addiction: Your Self-Treatment Guide to Alcohol, Drugs, Eating Disorders, Gambling, Hoarding, Smoking, Sex and Porn

What Addicts Know: 10 Lessons from Recovery to Benefit Everyone