Before Chappaquiddick: The Untold Story of Mary Jo Koepechne and the Kennedy Brothers

Author:  William C. Kashatus
Genre:   Biography

Hardcover; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781640122697
Potomac Books
248 Pages
$29.95; $28.45 Amazon
June 1, 2020

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On July 18, 1969, a car driven by Senator Edward M. Kennedy plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, off the coast of Cape Cod.  Mary Jo Kopechne, a twenty-eight-year-old former staffer for Kennedy's brother Robert, died in the crash.  The scandal that followed demeaned Koepechne's reputation and scapegoated her for Ted Kennedy's inability to run for the presidency instead of acknowedging her as an innocent victim in a tragedy that took her life.

William C. Kashatus's biography of Mary Jo Kopechne illuminates the life of a politically committed young woman who embodied the best ideals of the sixties.  Arriving in Washington in 1963. Kopechne soon joined the staff of Robert F. Kennedy and committed herself to his vision of compassion for the underprivileged, social idealism tempered by political realism, and a more humane nation.  Kashatus details her work as an energetic and trusted staffer who became one of the famed Boiler Room Girls at the heart of RFK's presidential campaign.  Shattered by his assassination, Kopechne took a break from politics before returning as a consultant.  It was at a reunion of the Boiler Room Girls that she accepted a ride from Edward Kennedy -- a decision she would pay for with her life.

The untold -- and long overdue -- story of a promising life cut short, Before Chappaquiddick tells the human side of one of the most memorable scandals of the 1960s.

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I would hazard a guess that anyone who knows who Mary Jo Kopechne is, probably knows that she died one night in July when then-Senator Edward M. Kennedy's car plunged off the side of a bridge.  Since then, there has been speculation and conspiracies as to how and why this happened, when Kennedy himself survived.

People have said that he drowned her because she knew too much about the Kennedys; that she was having an affair with Ted (Edward); etc., but I tend to believe it was merely an accident, and although many will disagree with me, I seriously can't believe that someone as high-profile as the senator was and still is, that he would purposely kill a young woman and then just walk away...

This book begins far earlier than Mary Jo's conception, beginning with her grand-parentage and explaining the type of people that her family was and where they came from:  a set of working class immigrants who came to this country to make it a better place and give themselves a better life.  Her family worked in the mines, which even now is dangerous and hard work, causing all manner of health problems.

But Mary Jo was born to Joe and Gwen Kopechne, their only child.  As such, she was pampered and loved, given every opportunity to make something of her life that was better than her parents'.  After all, isn't that what we as parent are supposed to do?  Want something better for our children and give them the chance to be better, to grow?  Joe and Gwen were no different than other parents, and they supported Mary Jo in whatever she wanted to do.

What she wanted to do -- and succeeded in doing so -- was go into politics and work for Senator John F. Kennedy while he made a run for president.  She worked hard, she worked long hours, and she pushed her way into becoming important for his campaign.  When JFK was elected, Mary Jo couldn't have been happier.  But then, unexpectedly, he was assassinated while driving through Dallas, and she was crushed.  It shattered her world.  

When she recovered, she went to work for his brother Robert, who was once John's attorney general, and worked longer hours and like a whirlwind to help him in his own campaign for the presidency.  But then again, RFK was assassinated, and Mary Jo's life once again crumbled to the ground; she had utter adulation for the Kennedys, and this truly devastated her, while she insisted she would never work for Ted, while other of the Boiler Room girls (Robert's staff) did so.

Now you can say that she was having affairs with these men, but you'd be wrong.  Robert was happily married to Ethel, and while John had a roving eye, it never roved in her direction.  Her zeal was to help the Democratic party and her loyalty was to the Kennedy brothers.  Unfortunately, the third time tragedy struck, it stuck hard and ended everything.

Senator Edward Kennedy never wanted to be president.  He didn't have the charisma of his brother John, and he didn't have the determination of his brother Robert.  He was the youngest Kennedy, and the last of four brothers (Joseph, Jr. was killed in WWII).  He'd lost three brothers and one sister at this point, and some say that he never recovered after Robert's death.  

It was a fateful night on Chappaquiddick when the accident occurred, and Ted made decisions that would change both his life and that of the Kopechne's forever.  Mary Jo's death never went away, and Ted threw himself into his work, playing a major part in getting laws passed that have benefited the American people, which included (but is not limited to) the COBRA health insurance provision; The Americans with Disabilities Act; and the Ryan White AIDS act.  You can say that Mary Jo's death left Ted a better person.

Now I am not praising Ted Kennedy at all; in fact, I've always believed that if he'd gotten help immediately she might have lived.  For myself, when John died so did my alliance to the Kennedys themselves.  And who knows what her life would have been?  Her death shattered her parents; it changed Ted.  Nevertheless, she left behind a legacy.  She was definitely a victim in this, perhaps someone who shouldn't have been there, perhaps willingly.  We will never know the truth.

But this book gives an interesting take on Mary Jo's presence; it delves into her life and brings forth the young girl she was and the young woman she became.  It gives her life meaning, and makes her more than just a victim on a late July night.  It tells the story of how she became the person she was, and gives her loss a heavy sadness.  I read this book hoping to gain insight into Mary Jo, and I was not disappointed in the outcome.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Before-Chappaquiddick-Kopechne-Kennedy-Brothers/dp/1640122699/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3438996673