SANTA MONICA —After reading one of my friend Christopher Kennedy Lawford’s latest book, “Moments of Clarity,” I remember why he was always everyone’s favorite Kennedy. Not only was his mother the beautiful, smart Patricia Kennedy, but his father was a beloved film star from Britain, Peter Lawford. I told Chris on Monday in his lovely Santa Monica home that he looks so much like his father, but reminds me much more of his mother than any of his siblings. Chris was a Hollywood brat back in the '60s and '70s and later took on the role of actor and made a name for himself. Now he’s penning nonfiction books for a living. “I am working on two novels right now, I hope to have them completed in the near future. I really do enjoy the writing process,” says Christopher. Fans of Lawford’s can expect very serious topics to be tackled honestly and with integrity in all of his books.

Courtesy: Christopher Kennedy Lawford

“I know that my uncles John [F. Kennedy], Bobby [Robert F. Kennedy] and Teddy [Edward M. Kennedy] have written books in the past and I would often think to myself, what else do I have to say? What is another Kennedy book going to mean to the world, what else can be told? When a writer called me about the idea, I flew into a rage and realized later that I had to deal with my illness,” said Lawford. His illness is hepatitis C, which Lawford acquired after years of drug use, which is part of the Hollywood lifestyle that his father and father’s friends, all very famous movie stars and musicians placed him in at an early age. Chris however has chosen to be honest about his situation so that it may possibly encourage young people not to follow in his and other’s footsteps.

Lawford’s most astonishing story came earlier this year, when he published “Healing Hepatitis C," along with Dr. Diane Sylvestre, who is a well-known and respected physician in the area of infectious diseases and hepatitis C. Chris tackled the story honestly and with dignity, just as his late mother would have wanted him to do. Having hepatitis C as he says, can be a transformative, extremely tough experience-especially without the right information. Chris and Dr. Sylvestre together deal with the stigma and misinformation, and the fears and frustrations of this illness. The book serves as a very important tool for medical and treatment information: from what hepatitis C is to what it does, and from what to expect during treatment to how to communicate with our physician. It also includes helpful advice from Chris on finding support from loved ones and others.

Christopher Lawford joins a long list of Kennedy cousins who have written books, from First Lady of California Maria Owings Shriver to Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg and even RFK’s son Maxwell Taylor Kennedy. What Chris is however is much more than a Kennedy or a Lawford telling a story, he is perhaps the best writer of nonfiction in my lifetime. What makes Christopher’s writing so much better than any other Kennedys is that he does not trade on the family name, he makes his literary work for every day people and he wants to instruct, not preach or entertain in his writing. Education and truth were always important issues in his late mother’s belief system and it sure paid off in her handsome and talented son, Chris. Lawford tells Canyon News, “I am doing great now, loving life, working and traveling. I want others to realize that a diagnosis of hepatitis C is not the end of the world, not the end of your life. But you have to get help and treatment and protect your health and the health of those around you.”

In 2005 those of us who have known Chris his entire life were stunned by his biography “Symptoms of Withdrawal: A Memoir.” Not that friends and family did not expect a truthful portrayal of his childhood, but amazingly it was even more than that. After reading “Kennedys Don’t Cry” no one thought that book would be topped and it was. Lawford a multi-best seller and acclaimed author continues to handle topics honestly and with respect for others. My favorite of his books is his “Moments of Clarity: Voices from the Front Lines of Addiction and Recovery.” This book delves into the mind of a man who fought addiction and wants to stay clean and wants that for others also. That’s one of the great things about Christopher, he’s always trying to live up to the standard his late grandmother Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy often taught her children and grandchildren, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” In this book Chris discusses in painful detail bouts of depression, stress and even physical pain that goes into a life of addiction, without honest portrayals like the ones chronicled in his book, many young people would probably try drugs or alcohol and find disastrous results in their lives.

“I am very grateful to be alive, Tommy. You know the life I led for many decades, but I am glad to be making a difference in the world and in other people’s lives. That’s what my family has always been about, as you well know,” said Lawford. When reading books by Christopher Kennedy Lawford, it’s no surprise that many book reviewers consider him the best writer, author in the Kennedy family. In a family filled with so much talent and intelligence, Christopher Lawford has been doubly blessed by the two parents he had; Patricia Kennedy and Peter Lawford. He has by far excelled much higher and greater heights as an author than any of his cousins and is also a beloved actor as well. All of Lawford’s books are available in bookstores and on Amazon.com. “I hope to get the novels completed soon Tommy, and I promise I’ll call you when they are done,” concluded Lawford. I’ll hold him to that.

Christopher Kennedy Lawford is the author of the New York Times bestsellers “Symptoms of Withdrawal” and “Moments of Clarity” He has worked extensively in Hollywood as an actor, lawyer, executive, and producer. He lives in Los Angeles.