Isabel Vincent’s book, RFK, Jr.: The Fall and Rise, details Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s life. It includes insight on second wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy.
Mary hung herself on May 16, 2012. Her husband and friend found the 52-year-old’s body in the couple’s Bedford, N.Y. barn.
A new book delves into Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s life
Isabel received RFK Jr.’s journals from a trusted source in 2013, and partially used these for her book.
Sadly, following her husband’s divorce filing on May 12, 2010, Mary’s life took a bad turn. Arrested for drunk driving, she pled guilty and had her license suspended. A judge also ordered an addiction assessment.
Mary did not want a divorce and feared losing custody of her children, Isabel wrote. She attended AA meetings and read RFK Jr.’s diaries, which revealed she married a philanderer.
The morning of Mary’s suicide, RFK Jr. contacted her friend, Shannon White. Isabel writes, he “worried something had happened to Mary and that she may have hurt herself.” After searching the couple’s property, they found Mary’s body in the barn.
Hours later, when Mary’s siblings came to the house, they asked RFK Jr. and his brother Christopher to leave, according to the book. When they said no, Mary’s sister Nan Richardson said to RFK Jr. “You have killed my sister.”
In an interview with People, Isabel said Mary’s family “pretty much hated him. I mean, so much so you saw that they didn’t go to the funeral and he was not invited to the Standard Hotel memorial, although I think Kerry [Kennedy] crashed.” The Richardson family hosted a private memorial service. “There was a real divide, and I think that they just felt he was insensitive to what was going on with her.”
The new book is available for preorder and will be released April 14.
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