The following article contains references to drug use and suicide.
Maria Shriveris best known for the numerous roles she has played in her life.
Despite her many successes, though, Shriver has also experienced a series of tragedies.
On November 22, 1963, Shriver’s mother’s older brother, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated.
At the time of her uncle’s assassination, Shriver was just 8 years old.
I was in 3rd grade at the time.
I was taken out of class and sent home.
This day is forever seared into my heart and mind."
She included a photograph of herself with her late uncle along with his daughter Caroline Kennedy.
In June 1968, Bobby campaigned in California and won the state’s Democratic primary races.
He was just 42 years old.
Shriver herself was only 12 years old at the time of Bobby’s assassination.
He was killed 8 weeks later."
Both anchors were fired from CBS after co-anchoring the show for only a year.
The problem wasn’t their lack of talent; instead, low ratings led to the cancellation.
In 1999, her cousin,John F. Kennedy Jr., died in a plane crash.
Piloted by John Jr., the plane went down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Massachusetts.
Fromher research, she found that women are surprisingly disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s compared to men.
Maria went on to form the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement.
She also wrote a children’s book about the disease titled “What’s Happening to Grandpa?”
It’s not just an older person’s disease.
And it doesn’t affect only the individual diagnosed; it deeply impacts the entire family."
She went on to explain that “journalism can not only inform, but also inspire us.”
In 2003, Shriver’s then-husband Arnold Schwarzenegger ran for California governor.
To help Schwarzenegger’s campaign, Shriver decided to take some time off from her job at NBC.
In February 2004, she announced that she was leaving NBC News.
Shriver initially had difficulty accepting her new role.
“I was losing my paycheck and my identity as a working woman.”
However, she went on to reveal that she started to embrace her title of first lady.
“I let the unknown challenge me as I worked through the uncertainty and the discomfort.
“Maria remained the first lady of California for seven years.
She was 88 years old at the time of her death.
“My mom, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, was my best friend, my champion,” she wrote.
“She pushed me, prodded me, challenged me.
I miss her very much.”
Maria continued, writing, “She wanted me to believe that anything was possible.
Edward “Ted” Kennedy had been fighting brain cancer at the time of Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s death.
“He was the most compassionate, empathetic man.
He knew all of the things that pain a human being.
No one ever came into his presence without feeling his passion and his enthusiasm for them.”
There are no stories of remission or miraculous recoveries.
It’s the ultimate foe, and you have to be a formidable warrior.”
The filing followed Schwarzenegger’s public admission of an affair he had in 1996.
“I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family.
There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused.”
Shriver and Schwarzenegger finalized their divorce more than a decade later.
Saoirse Kennedy Hill died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 22.
She was the only child of Maria Shriver’s cousin Courtney Kennedy Hill, Robert F. Kennedy’s daughter.
Saoirse had been open about her previous struggles with depression and a past suicide attempt.
… Death and rebirth are everywhere.
They are all the more reason to be less hurried and to pay more attention to what is.
After all, all we have is this moment.”
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available.
Visit theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration websiteor contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
