With his inventive pictures and rhythmic stories, the whimsical mind behind cherished classics like Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat enthralled generations of readers.
However, I was unaware that he had gone through a really difficult period in his life, one that included terms like “infidelity” and “suicide.”
You’ve probably seen Dr. Seuss’s books or artwork, whether or not you know who he is. Although he is a well-known figure to older readers, younger readers may only know him as the man behind the naughty Grinch.
Upon examining the precise figures, it is evident that Dr. Seuss is among the most influential children’s writers in the English-speaking world. Throughout his life, he authored and drew more than 60 novels, which were translated into 45 languages and sold an astounding 600 million copies.
Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, wrote beloved children’s books that still have an impact on modern culture. Nevertheless, a few of his novels have been taken out of print recently. Six of Dr. Seuss’s books would no longer be published because of their racist content, the publisher stated in 2021. Racist stereotypes and caricatures of Asians and people of color were used in the titles, which have drawn criticism for their prejudice.
This choice created a great deal of discussion and controversy, which was another unfortunate situation in which Dr. Seuss found himself in the public eye. There is a dark chapter in the renowned author’s life that many people are unaware of if we dig into his personal life.
Dr. Seuss first wife
The narrative started when Ted Geisel, a Massachusetts native, enrolled at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Even though Geisel was already demonstrating exceptional aptitude as an illustrator and writer, her goal at the time was to become an English professor.
Geisel would have a profound influence on Helen Palmer, his future wife, whom he met in England. She was his senior by six years.
Raised in Brooklyn’s wealthy Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, Helen was a conscientious student with high expectations. She pushed Geisel to pursue a career as an illustrator instead of becoming an English professor after they first met.
”Ted’s notebooks were always filled with these fabulous animals. So I set to work diverting him; here was a man who could draw such pictures; he should be earning a living doing that,” Helen later recalled.
In 1927, Geisel made his way back to the United States and wed Helen in New York. Life appeared bright, but gradually gray clouds began to collect. It became very challenging to make a career as an illustrator and writer during the Great Depression. Geisel was paid in owing bills rather than dollars for his two-line gags for Judge and Life.
Helen’s health problems prevented her from becoming a mother, but she and Geisel remained a formidable combination. Dr. Seuss would reply with his catchphrase when people asked him how he connected with kids despite not having any of his own:
“You have ‘em, and I’ll entertain ‘em.”
Geisel and Helen had a close working relationship, and when her husband received a job in Hollywood, she followed him. Helen was listed as co-writer with Geisel when the documentary Design for Death took home the 1947 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Years of pain
During the 1950s, Helen continued to work closely with her husband. She did everything for Geisel, who could be difficult to live with at times. Despite the wealth his children’s books had brought him, he refused to switch to an electric typewriter, deeming it “too sophisticated.” Helen joked that when her husband wasn’t working, he indulged in his “only two extravagances”: chain-smoking cigarettes and arranging rocks in his desert garden.
He was bored by Helen’s handling of the finances, and he was tired by her dinner party planning. Helen was the only one who could get the hesitant author to leave his tower when publishers proposed book tours or interviews, according to the memoir Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel. She also took care of all the shopping.
She worked on numerous of her own books at the same time.
In 1957, Helen was also co-founder of the “Beginner Books” label, which is known for its iconic Cat in the Hat logo. Although she was never given full credit for her contributions, she is said to have been the inspiration behind many of Geisel’s masterpieces.
The close cooperation continued until Helen started to have serious health problems. Even though Geisel was enjoying his best career yet, his marriage was in disarray. Guillain-Barré Syndrome is an uncommon autoimmune disease that causes numbness and weakness in the muscles by attacking the nerves. Helen had developed this illness.
Helen Geisel suffered from agony during the last twelve years of her life; among her symptoms was partial paralysis.
Helen’s last words
Helen finally broke after going through her anguish for over ten years. When the weight got too much, she started to think about taking her own life.
Geisel had reportedly started an affair with Audrey Stone Dimond, a family acquaintance who was also married and had two daughters, at the same time that he had grown estranged from his wife.
Helen made the terrible decision to take her own life because she was depressed and maybe bothered by rumors that her spouse was having an affair. On October 23, 1967, she overdosed on barbiturates and committed suicide.
Next to her deceased body was discovered a letter written to her husband:
Dear Ted, What has happened to us? I don’t know. I feel myself in a spiral, going down down down, into a black hole from which there is no escape, no brightness. And loud in my ears from every side I hear, “failure, failure, failure…” I love you so much… I am too old and enmeshed in everything you do and are, that I cannot conceive of life without you… My going will leave quite a rumor but you can say I was overworked and overwrought. Your reputation with your friends and fans will not be harmed. Sometimes think of the fun we had all thru the years.
Later, after Helen’s passing, Seuss talked of his dejection:
”I didn’t know whether to kill myself, burn the house down, or just disappear and get lost,” he said, according to the book Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel.
Geisel’s niece, Peggy, remarked, ”Whatever Helen did, she did it out of absolute love for Ted.” Meanwhile, secretary Julie Olfe described Palmer’s death as ”her last and greatest gift to him.”
Inside the affair
In August 1968, eight months after Helen passed away, Geisel wed Audrey Dimond, who was eighteen years his junior. Without any friends present, the pair exchanged vows at the Washoe County Courthouse in Reno, Nevada. Rather than holding a customary party, Dr. Seuss informed his pals of the news through letter.
”Audrey and I are going to be married… I am acquiring two daughters, aged nine and fourteen. I am rebuilding the house to take care of the influx. I am 64 years old. I am marrying a woman eighteen years younger… I have not flipped my lid. This is not a sudden, nutty decision… This is an inevitable, inescapable conclusion… All I can ask you is to try to believe in me.”
Audrey initially encountered Geisel and his spouse, Helen Palmer, during an event held in La Jolla, the picturesque coastal community in San Diego. There was definitely a spark between them even then, one that would eventually blossom into a serious romantic relationship.
Audrey was a comfort to Geisel while Helen was very sick.
”The feeling was that at his age you grab for the gusto. You don’t wait. You don’t think you have that much time,” Audrey later reflected.
In addition, Helen’s terrible suicide had a lasting impact on their new life together and on the close-knit La Jolla neighborhood. It caused “a rather large ripple” among friends and neighbors. In order to marry Geisel, Audrey had to divorce her husband as well, which required her to send her girls, who were 14 and 9 at the time, to school.
”They wouldn’t have been happy with Ted, and Ted wouldn’t have been happy with them,” she candidly told The New York Times in 2000.
Audrey shared Helen’s intense devotion to her husband’s career. In actuality, Geisel’s writing changed course when Audrey brought up the fact that he was now writing for everyone, not just kids.
Audrey assumed the roles of Geisel’s personal assistant and wife in the latter years of her life. Audrey became Geisel’s “eyes” and “driver” after he started losing his vision in 1975 due to glaucoma. Audrey even assumed control of his appearance.
”I created the beard. He had a nose that was looking for a beard all his life,” Audrey told The New York Times.
Dr. Seuss cause of death
Geisel started to have serious health problems by the late 1980s. A brain tumor was identified as the beloved children’s book author’s condition.
Geisel had to endure years of challenging therapy despite the medical team successfully removing the brain tumor.
He lost a portion of his jaw to palate cancer even after receiving a lot of radiation and chemotherapy for the condition over the course of the previous nine years. As his health deteriorated in the latter weeks of his life from a variety of diseases, he was compelled to communicate more through handwritten notes on paper.
On September 24, 1991, Theodor Geisel passed away at his La Jolla home. He was eighty-seven.
A representative for the family declared that Geisel’s remains would be cremated and that there would be no funeral services. Later, his ashes were dispersed across the Pacific Ocean.
Dr. Seuss last words
As noted before, Geisel’s last days were primarily characterized by brief notes. His final remarks were his efforts to compile an oral biography of his life. Now that the work was almost finished, Geisel’s close friend Neil Morgan, with whom he had been working on this project, paid him a visit on his deathbed to ask whether Dr. Seuss had any last thoughts.
According to Morgan, Geisel smiled and said, ‘Let me think about it.’ He then penned down some words on a yellow piece of paper:
”Whenever things go a bit sour, in a job I’m doing, I always tell myself, ’You can do better than this.’. The best slogan I can think of to leave with the U.S.A would be, ’We can… and we’ve got to… do better than his”.
It’s important to note that Geisel had a liberal or progressive political outlook overall, and themes of social justice, environmentalism, and anti-war attitude can be seen in many of his works.
Audrey Geisel’s death
Audrey became aware of the necessity to preserve her husband’s name and legacy following Geisel’s passing. She became the CEO of Dr. Seuss Enterprises after founding it. She worked as executive producer on the animated versions of multiple Dr. Seuss books in this role.
After her husband’s death, Audrey gave a lot of his writings, original drawings, letters, and other materials to establish a unique collection. This collection, which now numbers over 20,000 artifacts, is kept at the University of California, San Diego’s Geisel Library.
It was said of Audrey that she had a vibrant presence and could light up a room. Ted was said to have been inspired by her lively personality, which was evident in her unwavering support of his novels and their publication.
On December 19, 2018, she departed from this life “peacefully” in her La Jolla, California, home. She was ninety-seven.
The life narrative, writings, and legacy of Theodor Geisel will surely live on for a very long time. His imaginative worlds and literary achievements have made a lasting impression on a great number of readers.
However, his private life was far from ideal, as are the lives of many of us, exposing the intricacies and challenges inherent in the human condition.