Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed

Ask Not examines the Kennedy family's generations-long pattern of violence and exploitation toward women and girls. While the Kennedy name has been associated with wealth, power, and integrity, the book argues this image masks a hidden history of physical and psychological abuse, sexual assaults, reputational attacks, suicides, and manslaughter. Despite repeated scandals, the family and their defenders have maintained the Kennedy brand's reputation. Author and journalist Maureen Callahan draws on years of reporting to document this history of sexism and depravity. The book centers the experiences of women and girls connected to the Kennedys, including Jacqueline Onassis, Marilyn Monroe, Carolyn Bessette, Martha Moxley, Mary Jo Kopechne, Rosemary Kennedy, and others. Callahan restores these women to the center of the Kennedy family's story, honoring those who escaped and giving voice to those who could not.