Book Report

Katharine Hepburn

Author: Barbara Leaming, '95 –– Review by: Lynn Goldade, SOS Newsletter Volunteer-January 1996

This book is not about suicide, nor is it supposed to be about surviving a loss to suicide. However, it is about someone who has survived the effects of five family members' suicides with little public knowledge. This person is Katharine Hepburn. Surprised? I was when I heard the book reviewed on WI Public Radio.

Barbara Leaming interviewed Kate, her friends and family, and used thousands of documents in her research; including personal letters and financial records. In fact, even a great-uncle's accounts of Kate's grandmother's expenses (such as the pennies it cost for hot water) were included in the review.

Three generations of the Hepburn family are chronicled in this book. Although much of the book centers on the 'strong' Hepburn women (Kate's grandmother who was determined that her daughters be educated at all costs; Kate's mother who became a leader in the suffragist movement and advocated passionately for the right of women to obtain access to birth control; and Kate who is an "enigmatic and fascinating woman") the book also highlights the five known suicides, the secrecy surrounding those deaths, and the probable mental illness.

At the age of 42, Kate's grandfather took his life. No one knew why this happened, nor discussed the possible reasons. His brother (Kate's great-uncle) would do the same five years later. Again, there was no discussion. At age 13, Kate discovered her dearest brother (who was 15 at the time) hanging from the attic ceiling. Keeping with the family pattern, no one dared to talk about this tragedy. In fact, Kate's father was determined it was an accident gone bad, a prank that failed. Although Kate knew it wasn't, she supported this interpretation to protect her family, especially her father. Life went on and included two other ('hidden') family suicides.

In the author's opinion, Kate's response to the family suicides seemed to turn Kate into a relentless life-force. "Through her relationships with dark, self-destructive men like Spencer Tracy, John Ford, and the poet H. Phelps Putnam, Kate attempted to answer questions she had been forbidden to ask about her brother Tom or the others."
We all know how difficult it is to cope with surviving a loss to suicide. Some of us have admired Katharine Hepburn for her abilities as an actress and have been fascinated by her as a strong woman lobbying for education, rights, and equality. The research into this book uncovered Kate's losses and possible reasons for her actions and zest for life.

SOS Newsletter Article, Mental Health Center of Dane County, Inc.