Product Description

As the son of a celebrated literary icon, John Steinbeck IV grew up in a privileged world peopled by the literati and the intellectual elite. Sadly, it was also a world of alcoholism, bitter divorce, estrangement, and abuse, on the part of both his mother and father. In this fascinating memoir, the late son and namesake of John Steinbeck writes with great insight and a gift for lyrical expression about his often painful youth. Left unfinished at his untimely death, this testament to his life is here reconstructed by his wife of twelve years. Interweaving her own reminiscences of her life with John Steinbeck IV, Nancy Steinbeck has created an engrossing account from two perspectives: her husband's memories of his chaotic and adventurous upbringing and her own thoughts on their journey together to make a new life apart from the long shadow of a famous father and a troubled past.Though labouring under the burden of being the son of a 20th-century legend, the younger Steinbeck established himself as a respected journalist in his own right, mainly through his writing on wartime Vietnam, which had a profound impact on his life. "The Other Side of Eden" contains many thoughts on Vietnam, including a memorable scene of his father's visit to the war-torn country while the younger Steinbeck was in the army. There are also vivid recollections of his mother's abusive, alcoholic rages; his lonely years in boarding school; his long battle with drug addiction; his strained relationship with his remote, conflicted father; and the connection of East of Eden to Steinbeck's real-life family.Nancy Steinbeck adds important perspective as an outsider getting to know this complex family through her husband, and in the end helping him to put his life on a sound footing. Both Nancy and John, in their search for spiritual identity, were drawn to Tibetan Buddhism. Along the way they befriended a strange and fascinating collection of characters, from the Dalai Lama to William Burroughs and Abbie Hoffman. Their tale of triumph in the struggle against parental abuse, drug addiction, and the seductive trap of guru worship is a must read for all Steinbeck fans, as well as anyone who survived the sixties.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1319839 in Books
• Published on: 2001-02-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 363 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The title conveys the dual focus of this memoir: "life with John Steinbeck" refers both to the famous American novelist as seen by his son, and to Nancy Steinbeck's life with the son, her late husband, John Steinbeck IV. Nancy's introduction explains that Steinbeck IV commenced his autobiography in 1990, and after his untimely death in 1991, she "needed to finish his manuscript for [their] family." The book is in short sections, some by John, some by Nancy (a few are coauthored); they both tell sad tales of dysfunction and abuse. The son, a lost soul who never fully developed his own identity apart from his father's fame, tells of a childhood of "Promethean intensity," characterized "by shameless, alcoholic abuse and neglect." After being sent to Vietnam at age 20, John became a journalist (winning an Emmy), Buddhist monk, father, social activist and drug addict. With the exception of the last two years of his life, his periods of sobriety didn't last, though his tumultuous marriage to Nancy, against all odds, did. Nancy's story, perhaps the more dominant and message-driven, is all too familiar: loyal and enraged wife of an intelligent, creative addict who promises everything and delivers little. That intermittent "little" was enough for Nancy, however: "you just plain loved him because he had guts... with a brain... with words... with heart." Little new information on the senior Steinbeck appears, but Nancy does contribute an interesting, somewhat iconoclastic point of view rife with New Age inflections. While John's prose is rich with imagery and Nancy's story is sympathetic, a sense of aimlessness pervades the book. Only devoted Steinbeck fans will feel compelled to read this dual memoir. (Feb.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Nancy Steinbeck writes here about her father-in-law, the celebrated American novelist John Steinbeck, and about his son, her husband of 12 years, the late John Steinbeck IV. Her narrative frames her husband's memoir of life with his father, which was left incomplete at his death in 1991. John Steinbeck IV, a soldier, correspondent, and junkie who at one time lived "on the dregs of his substantial biannual Steinbeck royalty check," writes of his bitter resentments (family and country) amid the landscape of the 1960s and 1970s. His wife, a former therapist, writes of her role as a codependent and describes herself and her husband as tortured "inner angry babies." Squandered privilege, legacy, medication, and intimacy abound, and irresponsibility and bad choices commingle with na vet , delusions, transcendental meditation, and self-absorption. John Steinbeck IV's essays might appeal to readers interested in the the political era and post-traumatic stress syndrome experienced by veterans of the Vietnam War. But all in all, this is writing from a self-imposed trap.DScott Hightower, Fordham Univ., New York
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Addiction, abuse, and alcoholism all figured in the life of Nobel laureate John Steinbeck, and John Steinbeck IV (1946-91) followed in his father's footsteps. Not as a soldier in Vietnam in 1966--the accident of birth kept his father out of combat in both big wars--but as a writer who returned to Vietnam in '68 as a freelance journalist--experience that accounts for some of this memoir's most interesting chapters. He won acclaim for a Vietnam memoir, In Touch, as well as an Emmy for his work on the CBS documentary, The World of Charlie Company. And he became alcoholic and otherwise addicted, just like his parents. He kept mum about the family secrets almost to the end, starting to acknowledge them only shortly before his death following back surgery. His widow, Nancy, completes this insightful account of a chaotic upbringing and its consequences, rounding it out with her memories of life with him and her thoughts on the truncated journey with him toward a new life. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

This book is a saga...NOT BORING!!!
I'm reading this book in conjuction with Oprah's book club choice, East of Eden. I just had to respond to the person below who called the book boring, because I cannot put it down! People who drink alcholically are not weak minded, as the poster states. If self control could stop an addict, there would be no need for treatment centers and 12 Step programs. I found the story of recovery which weaves its way through John and Nancy Steinbeck's marriage to be tremendously inspiring and uplifting.
And I'm glad there's more to the book than an expose of Steinbeck's shadow side. This is an epic page turner which runs the gamut from the Steinbecks involvement with Beatniks, Hippies, Tibetan Buddhism, Viet Nam Vets, Anti-war protests,
Recovery, New Age gurus; it's truly a chronical for any baby boomer to find something that resonates in their own mythology.
The book has also helped readers on the Oprah Book Club board understand the psychological dynamics amongst the characters of East of Eden, as played out in the real lives of Steinbeck's sons. I love this book.

boring...very little about John Steinbeck
I checked this out of the library during one of my research 'attacks'. I was actually researching the life of Ed Ricketts and got dragged back into a Cannery Row-John Steinbeck 'binge'. I thought it would be interesting to read about John Steinbeck through the eyes of a son. However, the is very very little in this book about John Steinbeck and way too much about a weak-minded son. Boring. If you are interested in reading about someone who spends his life trying to find meaning in life via others (ie. cult life) and who cannot find strength within himself....who is too weak to deal with life without chemicals....this may be interesting to you. But there wasn't anything insightful here for me. Be warned....

Haunting and revealing
This biography of life with John Steinbeck is written by his son, who grew up in a privileged world of the intellectual elite, but one laden with abuse and estrangement. His memoir ended with his life and here is reconstructed by his wife of twelve years who adds her own insights to full out the life of John Steinbeck. Haunting and revealing.