True Compass

1) This is a book by a politician with their usual charm (or whatever politicians have) and a biography. So you are bound to root for the people in it at least to some degree, even if you don't want to.

And why not -- read how challenging privileged life is. (Okayy! I know this family was struck by tragedies too.)

2) Two of the chapters, 1963 and Bobby, focus on JFK and RFK respectively, their assassinations and how Ted and their family dealt with it. Bobby, especially, is very moving.

Ted wrote (months following RFK's death):

"A sail from Cape Cod to Maine, with a southwest breeze, is a glorious adventure, and it's a trip that Bobby and I had enjoyed together in years past..."

"And as the sun descends, only a few lights appear onshore, and so you head off into the darkness..."

"Seldom is there another boat in sight. And that is truly magical time of sailing, because the North Star appears: the North Star, which has been guiding star for all seamen through time... you are always waiting to see the North Star again, because it is the guide to home port; it is the guide to home."

"I gazed at the night sky often on those voyages, and thought of Bobby."

Those lines and the last paragraphs of Bobby are really sad. There is no easy way to deal with losing a loved one, a sibling, probably your best friend and partner in crime.

3) The book reminds us that the US shapes the world in more ways than one. It just has to be everywhere -- Cuba, Vietnam, Northern Ireland, Middle East and more (to put it in an absolutely mild garbage ass commentary).

4) In the last paragraphs of the chapter Perseverance, Ted talks about his grandson Little Teddy who was having problems with his sailing, one of their family's traditions. While nothing seemed to go right, Ted and his son encouraged Little Teddy to not give up. He told Little Teddy how he himself was not the best athlete but continued on until he 'caught touchdown passes' in his senior year. (I actually do not know what 'caught touchdown passes' means, but I imagine it's like scoring a goal in actual football?)

He wrote:

"'We might not be the best, Teddy, but we can work harder than anyone,' I told him. 'And that will make the difference.'

Little Teddy stayed with it. He grew eager to learn. He got better. He got more than better; he started winning races. When they gave the sailing awards at the end of August, Teddy had won first place for the August series in his division. What a triumph. But what meant even more to him--and, I must say, more to me--is that he won the award for the Most Improved Sailor.

It was a great moment--a grand moment. You couldn't even button up Teddy's coat because his chest was so filled with pride and achievement."

Sometimes when my strange clients feel like saying good things about me, they would include words like perseverance as well. It's nice to hear. I used to pep-talk myself that too, that I might not have the best clue about everything, but I still can work hard and do the right thing. What I've never told anyone, however, I now sometimes feel like just giving up and wallowing in misery.

I'm not going to over-analyze this too much, though, like how long this realization is going to last -- and did I just relate my life to a person whose entire family's hobby is sailing? -- but that chapter is a kind reminder to not give up. I can persevere, right? And have my chest filled with pride and achievement that I won't be able to button up my gorgeous suit?

5) Then we have Chappaquiddick.

I think one option is just not writing the memoir, so he doesn't have to bring back Chappaquiddick. But I guess that's probably not very Kennedy to run away from discomfort and challenges. So he talks about Chappaquiddick -- for probably five pages, padded and flanked by other events in his life. He admits responsibility, even if it was an accident.

But if this were the only time you'd ever read about Chappaquiddick, you wouldn't know that a deputy sheriff's account placed the accident at around 1AM, as opposed to Ted's version that it happened earlier at 11+PM. You also wouldn't know that he reported the accident at 10AM -- after the car was discovered by the public at 8AM -- after having spent plenty of time contacting his friends and lawyers (according to Wikipedia). Of course, it was terrifying, but who wouldn't raise an eyebrow at these details.


Book cover: Twelve