Franmarie Kennedy spent about thirty years in Washington, including the Reagan and Bush White Houses, NATO and the PBS NewsHour, a front-row seat to history that taught her how to read a room, keep her cool and find the story in everything. But the stories she can't stop telling come from somewhere closer to home: a big Irish-Catholic family where love was loud, competition was fierce and nobody ever got the last word.
Her memoir, And The Rose Goes To… (December 20, 2026), is the story of that family. It's twenty-two family events, one homemade trophy and no survivors. Funny first and tender second, it's about being too much, not enough, and loved anyway.
After decades in the capital, Franmarie started over in Winter Park, Florida. That fresh start inspired her signature talk, "Stuff I've Noticed… Along the Way: Twelve Principles for a Braver Life," which she gives for women's groups, book clubs, libraries and anyone navigating a new chapter. She is a member of Winter Park Toastmasters, Winter Park Chamber of Commerce and ATHENA NextGen.