It is the duty of the writer to lift up, to extend, to encourage…. Great writing has been a staff to lean on, a mother to consult, a wisdom to pick up stumbling folly, a strength in weakness and a courage to support sick cowardice. (115)

—John Steinbeck, Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters
John Steinbeck considered East of Eden to be the most important book he had ever written. It is a book about love of family and, most especially, love for his two sons, Thom and John, Jr. In this book he left for them a record of all of his wisdom for living a good life, all of his love for them, all of his hope for their future. In Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters—daily letters to Pascal Covici written on facing pages with the manuscript of the novel—he...

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