The biggest takeaways from the new RFK Jr. tell-all, from addiction to affairs

A new unauthorized biography on Robert F. Kennedy Jr. details the ups and downs of the famed Kennedy-turned-Health and Human Services secretary.

In the book titled "RFK JR.: The Fall and Rise," out April 14 from Harper Collins, author and New York Post investigative reporter Isabel Vincent uses Kennedy's private diary entries to illustrate the intimate details of the controversial figure's life − from the pressures he felt to live up to the legacy of his political family, the grief that followed the assassinations of his father and uncle as well as his trajectory from suspended student to environmental lawyer to Cabinet member.

The diaries, which contained more than 1,200 pages of entries, came from a "trusted source" in 2013, Vincent writes. The source was a friend of Mary Richardson, Kennedy's second wife, who died by suicide in 2012. According to the source, Kennedy's late wife allegedly took the journals "for insurance" during their tumultuous divorce.

Kennedy has not publicly commented on the book, but he has previously acknowledged the diaries, calling them "a tool for self-examination and for dealing with my spiritual struggles" in response to the Post's 2013 publication of some details from a 2001 journal. "The Fall and Rise" also includes details from a 1999 and 2000 journal.

Kennedy's representatives did not respond to USA TODAY's requests for comment about the book and its contents.

Here are some of the biggest takeaways:

RFK Jr.'s struggle with addiction detailed in new book

Kennedy was already experimenting with drugs like amphetamine tablets and LSD at 15, according to the book, and wrote about doing "acid, meth and dope" years later.

Heroin came next, and he introduced his brother David to the drug, David previously told a Kennedy biographer. David later died from an overdose.

The biographer, the late David Horowitz, is quoted in the book, saying, "Bobby held him down when David was thirteen and shot him with heroin. Bobby was the ringleader."

Kennedy was suspended and expelled from different schools early in life, in part because of drugs. He was also arrested for selling a joint to an undercover cop.

By the time he got to college, according to the book, he was a "full-blown drug user" and dealer, particularly cocaine, heroin and a mixture of the two called "speedballs."

His drug use continued into his first marriage and led to multiple rehab visits after he was arrested for heroin possession, the book adds.

Kennedy's 'lust demons'

Kennedy's relationships with women were also highlighted in the book, as the pages recount how he contended with what he called his "lust demons."

The book alleges how he cheated on his first wife, Emily Black, with his second wife, Richardson, and then on his second with his third and current wife, actress Cheryl Hines − along with numerous infidelities throughout. It also describes a sort of conquest log kept in the back of his diary, which included names of women and numbers one to 10, which denoted different sexual acts, according to the book. Sometimes, there were as many as three entries per day, Vincent wrote, including some where the word "victory" was added with exclamation marks.

He also referred to some random sexual encounters as "muggings," a code word. "Got mugged on the way home," he wrote in one entry. "I've got to do better."

During a trip in 1999, he wrote that he "made it through a difficult week without acting out. ... I am proud of myself because the Sirens were on every rock out there."

His own health revelations

In addition to entries about his vocal challenges with spasmodic dysphonia, the book also documented some of Kennedy's own health challenges, including atrial fibrillation and an irregular heart rhythm he experienced in 2001. His heart difficulties began in his 20s, he said in a deposition related to his second divorce.

"It came up in college. ... It feels like there's a bag of worms in my chest. I can feel immediately when it goes out," he said, adding he had to avoid caffeine and stress and that the condition resulted in short-term memory loss. Research has linked AFib to cognitive decline.

He later mentioned more heart palpitations, which he saw a doctor for. "Got EKG'd," he wrote, adding he was given a blood thinner shot and another drug that had a chance of sending him into heart failure. He wrote doctors don't normally prescribe the treatment, but said his doctor "knows I won't tell on him." Kennedy, known most recently for his "Make America Healthy Again" movement, has taken controversial stances on many health topics, like vaccines, which haven't always sided with scientific consensus.

Kennedy was also diagnosed with hemochromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes excessive iron absorption and can lead to liver and heart damage.

Kennedy wrote the diagnosis may "account for my heart problems," which he described as his heart feeling like a "gerbil cage several hours a day." He added high iron levels were also found after a blood test discovered hepatitis C, around the same time he noted having "Captain Winky" problems − seemingly using a slang term for erectile dysfunction. Research shows iron imbalances can cause issues with sexual function.

His take on famous friends

Kennedy rubbed elbows with many celebrities over the years, with the book mentioning connections to Jeffrey Epstein, Taylor Swift, Leonardo DiCaprio, Arnold Schwarzenegger and more. Some diary entries in the book also included his unfiltered thoughts on some of the famous faces in his circles, including:

• Bill Clinton, about a year after his impeachment over his affair with Monica Lewinsky: "He looked like a playboy. He was tan and fit and spoke well and laughed a lot and was very charming." But Kennedy changed his tune after Clinton's controversial pardons: "I defended the Clintons to all comers on every issue and was never shaken... But now I'm disgusted. [Clinton] really is a flawed character."
• Andrew Cuomo, his brother-in-law after marrying his sister Kerry, during Cuomo's first run for governor: "Andrew could win because he is totally focused and energetic. He could lose because he lacks humanity and doesn't love people. He is not a retail politician."
• Laurie David, Larry David and friend Julia Louis-Dreyfus, after a dinner in 1999: "I am crazy about these guys." On David's wife Laurie, specifically, he wrote he "loved for her energy and commitment and humor." Though the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" stars were part of introducing Kennedy to Cheryl Hines, the friendship has since seemingly faltered due to political divides.
• Rob Reiner: "Reiner was great fun and was helpful as usual."
• John Wilber, a former football star who Kennedy marveled at for his luck with the ladies: "It always amazes me," he wrote. "His head is shaped like a football and his ears like wings on a blimp but he is ... always successful. He calls it his 'hot bod.'"
• President Bush after 9/11 attacks: "Our president is an idiot and a puppet and it's painful watching him on TV. ... He is such an utter simpleton. It's agonizing having him as our leader and I know the forces of darkness in his administration will turn this national tragedy to their advantage."
• Rudy Giuliani: "I like despite his violent and forbidding character and his narrow eyes."

RFK Jr.'s long list of bizarre pets

While Kennedy's history with falconry is common knowledge – he had his own falcon by age 11 – the book also outlines some other odd pets throughout his childhood home.

This included a sea lion named Sandy that lived in one of the home's pools, was fed a diet of fresh mackerel and caused a traffic jam because of prowling the neighborhood with a pack of dogs, according to the book. Sandy was later donated to the Washington National Zoo after the incident.

After a trip to Africa in 1964, Kennedy returned home with a 16-pound leopard tortoise (allegedly brought back in a Gucci suitcase) − a pet that lived at his home for more than two decades.

Kennedy was also gifted a lion cub at one point, which he took with him to a boarding school that had an on-site zoo before he was expelled.