The Book that Unleashed American Grief

This is a thought-provoking essay that examines how the rules about what could — and could not — be talked about in public, began to change. When did we first start to openly discuss what makes us who we are?

Surely the book was too personal, Gunther’s publisher, Harper & Brothers, objected. Who would want to read such a dismal book about a complete stranger? And wasn’t it indecent to broadcast an intimate story of suffering in public? But Gunther prevailed.