It was all sunlight and promise and hope in those days. Where sex meets addiction, author susan cheever investigates the realm in which making love becomes a compulsive behavior. Texas residents will be charged an 8% sales tax unless an exemption number is available. Susan cheever is currently working on a book about concord, massachusetts between 1840 when the alcott family arrived there and 1868 when louisa may alcott reluctantly sat down to write little women. Susan cheevers alcott biography is a hot mess huffpost. Susan cheever elegantly blends biography, memoir and cultural. From poetry, to autobiographies, antiaging, health and hormones, and weight loss. Paul hosefrosgetty images o n a damp and unseasonably cold summer morning, susan cheever and i leave her apartment in new york and. As told by susan cheever in her workmanlike, sermony new biography, my name is bill, wilsons life was. Susan cheever born july 31, 1943, an american author, is a prizewinning bestselling writer well known for her memoir, her writing about alcoholism, and her intimate understanding of american history. She is a guggenheim fellow, a member of the corporation of yaddo, and a member of the authors guild council. The children of writers surpass only the children of shrinks in terms of hours logged in therapy, and memoirist susan cheever, the daughter of acclaimed writer john, is no exception.
Soldiers brought back wonderful, exotic war souvenirs. Catching up on susan cheevers new biography on louisa. In exploring desire, cheever offers tales of her own sexual promiscuity, with incisive commentary from experts on the neuroscience and psychology of addictive behavior. The trash came over on the mayflower, my father always said. The cheevers had come over in 1630 on the arbella, the flagship of the winthrop fleet. Cheever, whose previous work includes several novels and memoirs, was inspired to write about the subject in part by researching my name is bill, her recent biography of. John cheever books biography and list of works author. Susan cheevers latest work, however, brings new life to the wellknown literary.
The book chronicles how alcohol has influenced the. The best puritans, the puritans like us waited until it was clear that the new world was a place worthy of our attention. How prohibition turned american writers into drinkers. Two of cheevers children, susan cheever and benjamin cheever, became novelists. Bill wilson his life and the creation of alcoholics anonymous, lists her 20 favorite books at her website. Susan cheever on transcendentalists, louisa may alcott, and. Stephanie susnjara is a freelance writer and editor based in katonah, new york. The demons that drove john cheever biography books the. She had dismissed her publishers pleas for such a novel. Susan cheever enlivens the welltrodden literary topography of new york, europe, and san francisco with some good descriptive writing. My name is bill goodreads meet your next favorite book.
John cheever books biography and list of works author of. Bill wilsonhis life and the creation of alcoholics anonymous, lists her 20 favorite books at her website. A less than extraordinary exploration of a woman who still puts everyone elses needs before her own, offering little hope of genuine fulfillment for her generation. Her description of bill as a child and young adult were intriguing.
Cheever elizabeth cole, 1989 tried to use her own life as fodder for previous books. Author susan cheever, 72, teaches nonfiction writing at new yorks new school and at bennington college in vermont. John william cheever may 27, 1912 june 18, 1982 was an american novelist and short story writer. Susan cheevers new book is the group biography, american bloomsbury 2006, a study of the intertwined lives and love affairs of louisa may alcott, ralph waldo emerson, margaret fuller, nathaniel hawthorne, and henry david thoreau. I read this book with high hopes because of its wonderful title. In this compelling companion volume to her acclaimed memoir home before dark, susan cheever once again gives readers a revealing look into her famous family, whose secrets and eccentricities parallel their genius and successes. Any book not in the condition described is returnable, with prior notice. Home before dark book by susan cheever official publisher. Jan 05, 2010 few of us want to drink too much or become drug addicts or rack up credit card debt, but most of us want to fall in love, writes susan cheever in her provocative desire. Set against the backdrop of treetops, the new hampshire family retreat where the cheevers still summer, and going back several generations, this powerful remembrance. With more than 35,000 copies of the book sold since, cheever has focused on the legendary and muchloved louisa may alcott.
Cummings, william and dorothy wordsworth, and tennyson. Sep 21, 2015 susan cheever is the bestselling author of eleven previous books, including five novels and the memoirs note found in a bottle and home before dark. His most significant works include the wapshot books the stories of john cheever which won the pulitzer prize. Creative nonfiction collects essaysby italian american writers other press2005, as well as other publications. Cheevers most recent book, published in 2015, is drinking in america. In 1961, john cheever bought the only house he ever owned, in ossining, new york. Susan cheever elegantly blends biography, memoir and. Not so, especially since ive adopted the habit of taking notes as i read. Next came a volume of cheevers letters, edited by susans brother, benjamin, who wrote in his introduction of how difficult it had been to. Indeed, the book suggests that in love is a dangerous state, to be navigated before proceeding to marriage. A group biography of alcott, margaret fuller, henry d.
She writes a weekly column for newsday and teaches in the bennington college m. Susan cheever is the bestselling author of thirteen previous books, including five novels and the memoirs note found in a bottle and home before dark. John cheever 1912 1982 john cheever may 27, 1912june 18, 1982 was a u. I was born in new york city and have lived here on and off my entire lifein fact i went to nursery school a few blocks from where i. This is the oftenoverlooked story of how alcohol has shaped american events and the american character from the. Susan cheever books list of books by author susan cheever. In home before dark, susan cheever, daughter of the famously talen. She is a guggenheim fellow, a member of the corporation of yaddo, and a member of. Treetops book by susan cheever official publisher page. Every year, new young readers continue to fall in love with alcotts work, from little women to her feminist papers. Author susan cheever, 72, teaches nonfiction writing at new yorks new. A new generation on the glory of foodseal press2003 and our roots are deep with passion.
When a friend told me she was reading susan cheevers book american bloomsbury about emerson and his circle in concord, i was intrigued, because id read cheevers memoir about her father years ago and had lost track of her career after that. Writing is my greatest passion because i can share the things that matter most to me with all of you. We hope that these ideas will enrich your discussion and increase your enjoyment of the book. Louisa may alcott, ralph waldo emerson, margaret fuller, nathaniel hawthorne, and henry david thoreau. Sep 08, 2014 in 1961, john cheever bought the only house he ever owned, in ossining, new york. Susan cheevers alcott biography is a hot mess 02102016 06. As told by susan cheever in her workmanlike, sermony new biography, my name is bill. Her work has been nominated for the national book critics circle award and won the boston globe winship medal. Treetops susan cheever about this guide the suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for discussion for susan cheevers treetops.
It was one of the most important moments of his life, his daughter, the writer and biographer susan cheever, told. Susan cheever born july 31, 1943, an american author, is a prizewinning bestselling writer. Written out of necessity to support her family, the book had an astounding success that changed her life, a life which turned out very differently from that of her beloved heroine jo march. Susan cheevers most recent book drinking in america, a look at american history through the lens of alcoholism, was published in october, 2016. His fiction is mostly set in the upper east side of manhattan, the westchester suburbs, old new england villages based on various south shore towns around quincy, massachusetts, where he was. New england before the twentieth century was a land of hard lives and desperate choices.
Nov 02, 2010 louisa may alcott never intended to write little women. The book is like an extended new yorker profile, a. She is author of 15 books, most recently drinking in america. The latter era, american prohibition, is examined in the following excerpt, which is drawn from susan cheevers fascinating new study, drinking in america.
Cheevers feminist interpretations of lindas choices, drawing from the likes of carol gilligan and susan faludi, add little clarity or insight into lindas condition. Feb 12, 2004 new england before the twentieth century was a land of hard lives and desperate choices. Oct 17, 2009 john cheever at home in ossining, new york, 1979. Bestselling author susan cheever chronicles our national love affair with liquor, taking a long, thoughtful look at the way alcohol has changed our nations history. Susan cheever wrote a good book about a dude that ive wondered about for years. His life and the creation of alcoholics anonymous, a biography of alcoholics anonymous cofounder bill wilson, and home before dark, a memoir about her father, john cheever. It helps that susan cheevers subject, her father, was and remains long after his death one of the finest fiction writers in the history of american literature.
A brilliant and important addition to our understanding of. This is the oftenoverlooked story of how alcohol has shaped american events and the american character from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. Curl up with a good book it could change your life. Her essays have appeared in the anthologies, women who eat. Biography fans will devour louisa may alcott, susan cheevers briskly paced. A personal biography, was published in the fall of 2010 and a previous book on the american transcendentalists, american bloomsbury. The contract led to a long legal battle, and a book of stories by the author, published in 1994. Treetops by susan cheever overdrive rakuten overdrive. A drinking life by pete hammill another kind of history of new york. Some of her other notable works include my name is bill bill wilson. Home before dark is a beautifully written, moving book that stays with you long after you have finished reading it. Book rate or media mail shipment is recommended for heavy volumes and large sets. Where sex meets addiction by susan cheever 192 pages. The lives of louisa may alcott, ralph waldo emerson, margaret fuller, nathaniel hawthorne and henry david thoreau in concord, massachusetts from 1840 to 1868 and my name is bill.
Their lives, their loves, their work by susan cheever and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Susan cheever author of american bloomsbury goodreads. Cheevers book explores the line between the kind of love on which a life together can be built, and the passionate kind of love that is. Susan cheever is the author of american bloomsbury 3. Susan cheevers memoir, home before dark, revealed cheevers bisexuality, which was confirmed by his posthumously published letters and journals. Based on extensive research and access to alcotts journals and correspondence, cheever chronicles all. Elegant and electrifying book about the war in vietnam and the war in our hearts. By john cheever, new york, harper 11 copy quote literature has been the salvation of the damned, literature has inspired and guided lovers, routed despair and can perhaps in this case save the world.
Literature has been the salvation of the damned, literature has inspired and guided lovers, routed despair and can perhaps in this case save the world. The latest book by susan cheever, novelist, biographer and daughter of the late john cheever, is a cautionary tome that chronicles her addiction to sex. Susan cheever is the author of many books on american history, the most recent of which is drinking in america. Not a book to read if youre not into a 12 step program, or have no interest in the creation of aa, but if you are or have been in the past you may really dig it. Nov 17, 2010 susan cheever will be at the miami book fair international at 1 p. At 257 pages, i would have thought that my read of susan cheevers louisa may alcott a personal biography would have been quick and easy. The demons that drove john cheever books the guardian.