Kennedy’s sons: Memoir reveals untold stories

“The real story of this book is how someone kept going in spite of otherwise being paralyzed,” Rep. Kennedy said. Referring specifically to Chappaquiddick, he added, “All of us could have hung it up at that point. I certainly would have. And yet he carried on, and he did a terrific job.

“That is what I think America’s story is all about. I think in spite of all the biggest obstacles you could face, you could still be one that could make a difference in life,” the congressman added.

Both sons told Lauer that their father didn’t like to talk about his emotions. Learning that he had terminal brain cancer and writing his book gave even those who knew him best new insights they never otherwise would have had.

(...) He would confess in his book that after his brothers’ deaths, the sound of gunfire made him freeze.

“As I walked in a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Lawrence in March 1969, a burst of popping firecrackers caused me to freeze in my tracks and prepare to dive to the pavement. I stayed upright by an act of will,” Sen. Kennedy wrote. “Years later, on another occasion, I was enjoying a walk in the sunshine near the capitol with Tom Rollins — then my chief of staff — when a car backfired down the street. Tom recalls I was suddenly nowhere to be seen. Turning around, he saw me flattened on the pavement. ‘You never know,’ Tom recalls me saying.

“Even now I’m startled by sudden noises. I flinch at 21-gun salutes at Arlington to honor the fallen in Iraq. ”