Book excerpt: "Ethel Kennedy: The Extraordinary Life and Bold Legacy"

We may receive an affiliate commission from anything you buy from this article. Ethel Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy were married nearly 18 years, and had 11 children together, before he was felled by an assassin's bullet in June 1968. In her memoir, "Ethel Kennedy: The Extraordinary Life and Bold Legacy" (to be published Oct. 13 by HarperOne), daughter Kerry Kennedy writes of her mother's inspiring example, from before and after the murder of her father. Read an excerpt below, and don't miss Rita Braver's conversation with Kerry Kennedy on "CBS Sunday Morning" October 11! Prefer to listen? Audible has a 30-day free trial available right now.The Funeral Train ("We'll Cry Later")The line outside St.

Patrick's Cathedral, where Daddy lay in state, was a mile long. One hundred thousand mourners passed by his coffin. Family and friends took turns holding vigil. The first time I witnessed that public outpouring of grief was when I accompanied Mum, along with my siblings, to a special service the night before the funeral. Mum's face, swathed in a black veil, was composed, almost serene, as we knelt to pray. The singer Andy Williams, a close friend of Mum and Daddy, sang "Ave Maria" a cappella, his resonant tenor echoing through the cathedral. I was thinking that Mary and all her angels were in the