Three days ago, author and New Yorker staff writer Calvin Trillin's new book About Alice was released. He gives the reader a portrait of his life with his wife Alice in what is called, "a straightforward honest portrait of their marriage and family life in this slim volume, opening with the suggestion that he had previously mischaracterized Alice when he wrote her into stories that were essentially sitcoms."

Alice, a non-smoker who was diagnosed with lung cancer in the 1970s, passed away the day after 9/11 on September 12, 2001 of heart failure that resulted from complications of radiation cancer treatment. During her life, her creativity, intelligence, talent and non-conformity led to her becoming an accomplished writer, editor and educator. As a cancer survivor, Alice wrote the article Of Dragons and Garden Peas: A Cancer Patient Talks to Doctors about her experience as a cancer patient in the Land of the Sick.

Trillin wrote of meeting his wife, "My first impression was that she looked more alive than anyone I'd ever seen. She seemed to glow." About Alice is a loving tribute of a fascinating woman.