Cheever, Susan

Offers a revealing look at the tumultuous, often scandalous lives of five of the greatest authors in nineteenth-century American literature.

Chronicles the life of Bill Wilson, cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, discussing his childhood in Vermont, his deep-seated insecurity, his battle with alcoholism, his efforts to stop drinking, and the events that lead him to start AA.

The author describes her memories of her mother's family, including Thomas Watson, who helped Alexander Graham Bell invent the telephone, and Milton Winternitz, a doctor and former dean of Yale Medical School, using Treetops, the family's New Hampshire retreat, as a background for her memoirs.

John Cheever's daughter, Susan, has used his journals, letters and her memories to tell the story of one of America's foremost writers.