Alcoholic Stephen King and flawless Tabitha Spruce: love that conquered addiction

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Looking at this married couple, it is difficult to even imagine what trials and sorrows their path went through. And only thanks to the great mutual love, Stephen King and Tabitha Spruce are still together. Despite all obstacles and forecasts, he took place as a writer, husband, father, because his Tabitha was next to him.

Student love

They met while both were attending the University of Maine. King got a job at the student library, where he met Tabitha. The second meeting took place at a poetry seminar, where students, along with teachers, read their poems, and then discussed them.

The future writer was shocked by two moments in the girl: she wore an open black dress, silk stockings and read meaningful poetry. At that time, a poem was considered the more worthwhile, the less intelligible it was. The girl, on the other hand, wrote about the bear and the blessed Augustine, in her work everything was clear. When the seminarians began to criticize the young poetess, Stephen zealously began to defend her.

From this very seminar, their tender friendship began. They talked a lot about literature and went with the cinema. When Tabitha introduced King to her family, she stumbled upon a brutal misunderstanding. How could she, a pious Catholic, fall in love with a bearded informal, a lover of rock music and strong alcohol?

However, the girl was not going to betray her feelings, and on January 2, 1971, Stephen and Tabitha were married. King was able to distinguish himself even on the wedding day, having come to the ceremony already tipsy.

The first steps

King graduated from university with a degree in English teaching and began looking for work. In the summer, the first child was born in the King family - adorable baby Naomi. All the places in the schools were occupied, and the family needed to be supported. The future writer had to earn money as a worker in a laundry. Tabitha was writing her graduation work and was trying to manage the household decently with the very modest money earned by her husband. They were in desperate need, the young family was from time to time rescued by the father of the young wife, who owned a grocery store.

Fortunately, Steven was soon offered a place at the school. The couple moved to a small town and settled in a trailer. Tabitha began to earn money in a donut shop, her husband worked at school, and in the evenings he wrote diligently. He sent his works to different publishers, but over and over again received rejections from everywhere. In the summer of 1972, baby Joseph was born into their family.

First success

Stephen was completely discouraged. He was no longer happy with anything, the most severe depression was coming closer and closer. For six months in 1973, only two of his stories were published. Op wrote and immediately threw away what was written, it seemed to him that he could not achieve anything else. He did not become a writer, his destiny is to teach English at school and live in deep poverty until old age.

Only Tabitha did not lose faith in her husband's talent. As much as she could, she supported and spurred him on, almost forcing him to write again. Bumping into more sheets of paper, Tabitha began to read. And I realized that in fact Stephen had found the right style and this work could have a chance of success. Together they made out what was written, the wife convinced Stephen to develop the story of an ugly girl with paranormal powers. As a result, Stephen King wrote his first major acclaimed work, Carrie. It was this masterpiece that brought King his first fee - 2.5 thousand dollars.

This was very decent money for them, which allowed the young family to pay off all the bills, rent a decent apartment and even buy medicine for their daughter. And just six months later, the rights to the book were bought by another publishing house for 400 thousand dollars, half of which was due to the author. Stephen and Tabitha could not believe that now they would never need again, that the first success had come, followed by the next books, the next editions and royalties.

On the brink of consciousness

For "Carrie" came the demand for a writer. He quit school and devoted himself entirely to his beloved work. He often did not even admit to himself that his own fears and doubts were revived in his novels. King wrote hard, faithful Tabitha helped him in everything. She was his first critic and his co-author. In 1977 they had a second son, Owen.

It would seem that life should get better, but then a new trouble overtook the family. To Stephen's alcohol addiction, drug addiction was added. He could write only by drinking gallons of beer and sniffing cocaine. He worked hard, drank even more and could no longer do without it. Hardly anyone guessed that he began to constantly plug his nose while working with cotton wool, otherwise the blood from the nose simply poured onto the typewriter.

Tabitha found him almost unconscious, covered in blood. When the woman tried to help him, Stephen rudely pushed his wife away, shouting that she would not let him finish the last paragraph. Tabitha packed all the liquor bottles into a bag and emptied them in front of him. It was an ultimatum: either he stops destroying himself, or the spouses get divorced. King seemed to be doused with ice water.

The author of popular horror novels turned out to be a monogamous person. He could not even think that Tabitha would not be in his house and in his destiny. Since then, he has not taken a drop of alcohol, never again has his hand reached for drugs. The spouses have come a rather long way of rehabilitation, but they prefer not to talk about this.

Strong bonds

Much time has passed since then. Children have grown up, grandchildren are growing up, King has become one of the most popular writers, many of his works have been filmed. And he is still infinitely happy next to his guardian angel Tabitha. King's wife also writes, her works are published in America. She saved him again in 1999, when Stephen was hit by a car and could not work on his own for a long time. She was in the hospital with him around the clock, she discussed new ideas with him, she wrote down his thoughts. Probably, this is true love: to be near in sorrow and in joy, in poverty and in wealth. Now they are truly happy together.

The love of two kindred souls is always creative. Another example of such love is history. Maria Sklodowska and Pierre Curie. Their love allowed them to make many discoveries.