Dr Seuss’ 1st book was rejected 20 times + 9 Other Facts About The Author

2. Geisel’s wife committed suicide

His wife Helen Marion Palmer Geisel was also a children’s author.  In 1967, after a series of illnesses (including cancer), Geisel committed by overdosing on barbiturates.

She was also despondent over her husband’s affair with their longtime friend Audrey Stone Dimond.

Helen’s suicide note read:

“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 …”

Geisel married Audrey the year after Helen’s death.