Name: Kerry Kennedy | Ethel Kennedy: The Extraordinary Life and Bold Legacy
Start: 2026-10-20T19:00:00-04:00
Location: Atlanta History Center

Kerry Kennedy | Ethel Kennedy: The Extraordinary Life and Bold Legacy

A vivid, intimate biography of Ethel Kennedy written by her daughter Kerry Kennedy, who takes us inside the life of an American icon through her firsthand memories and exclusive access to her mother's unpublished writings.
The Atlanta History Center and A Cappella Books proudly welcome human rights attorney and New York Times bestselling author Kerry Kennedy in honor of her new book, “Ethel Kennedy: The Extraordinary Life and Bold Legacy.”
All tickets include a signed copy of the book.

About the Book
When her husband Robert F. Kennedy was killed in 1968, Ethel Skakel Kennedy—then pregnant with their eleventh child—drew national attention for her grace, dignity, and resolute commitment to furthering his work in human rights, even in her grief. But as her daughter Kerry witnessed, Ethel was so much more than a dutiful wife and keeper of Robert's legacy of service. She was courageous, curious, compassionate, boisterous, and witty, always guided by faith and an instinct for speaking truth to power.
Kerry delves into her own memories, her family's recollections, and her mother's private papers, describing:
Ethel's family's journey from a working-class Chicago background to life in Tony Greenwich, Connecticut
Ethel's fairytale romance with Kerry's father RFK—a courtship that inspired a Taylor Swift song half a century later
How the bold, athletic Ethel quickly became "more Kennedy than the Kennedys"
The years on the famed family properties in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, and the Hickory Hill estate in Virginia, where Kerry and her ten siblings grew up amidst presidents and politicians, Olympians and Hollywood stars, and a rambunctious menagerie of pet animals
Moments of pain and loss—RFK’s death just five years after that of his brother; and the tragic deaths of two of Kerry’s siblings
Ethel’s unflagging commitment to global human rights causes that carried on through the decades
Co-written with Maryanne Vollers, Ethel Kennedy inspires us to reject cynicism and to live bigger and bolder. The book includes 24 pages of color photographs.
About the Author
Kerry Kennedy is a human rights lawyer, activist, New York Times-bestselling author, and daughter of Ethel Skakel Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. Kerry is the president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the organization Ethel founded in 1968 to continue Robert's unfinished work, and served as chair for the Amnesty International USA Leadership Council for over a decade. During her forty years working in human rights, she has led hundreds of delegations and negotiated with leaders around the globe. She is the author of three previous books: “Robert F. Kennedy: Ripples of Hope,” “Speak Truth to Power,” and “Being Catholic Now.”