About Alice

About Alice, by Calvin Trillin

About Alice, by Calvin Trillin, the New Yorker staff writer and author, is an achingly beautiful portrait of his marriage to his late wife, Alice. Trillin wrote about the enigmatic Alice throughout his career with great humor and tenderness. A non-smoker, Alice was diagnosed with lung cancer at age 38, underwent extreme radiation treatment and had a portion of her lung removed in 1976. She died on September 11, 2001 from heart failure caused by the radiation. Trillin brings Alice to life in the pages of this book in ways that leave the reader laughing and crying. He writes of getting sympathy notes from people who felt that they knew Alice, including a young woman who sometimes looked at her boyfriend and thought, "But will he love me like Calvin loves Alice?" Beautiful, talented and giving, Alice was an accomplished wife and mother who, in the words of a friend "managed to navigate the tricky waters between living a life you could be proud of and still delighting in the many things there are to take pleasure in." Trillin said he never quit trying to impress Alice. His book dedication reads, "I wrote this for Alice. Actually I wrote everything for Alice." Calvin Trillin has created a beautiful gift for his readers and to the love of his life, Alice.
-Kathy C