Stephen King has written over 60 novels to date, but there's one classic book he can't remember writing, due to a dark chapter in his life. It's no secret that King has battled the demons of substance abuse in the past, which has at times been reflected in his work. For instance, King has written several characters battling the same type of addictions, including The Shining's Jack Torrance, The Tommyknockers' Gard, and Doctor Sleep's Danny Torrance. Of course, addiction is an illness that's affected some of the greatest literary minds ever, so King is in good company.
It's well-known that King was high on cocaine for most of Maximum Overdrive's production, and many - including King himself - feel that fact contributed to just how bad the movie turned out. But King spent many years in the clutches of addiction, both to cocaine and alcohol. Thankfully, he's been clean and sober for decades at this point, and is by all accounts much happier with his life. Still, there were many projects colored by King's addiction.
One was the aforementioned Tommyknockers, which King now regards as being possibly his worst book. Yet, King's dark years proved to be a double-edged sword professionally, as he also penned some really great stuff while under the influence. Even if, as in one particular case, he can barely even remember writing it.
The Classic Book Stephen King Can't Remember Writing
Cujo, Stephen King's 1981 award-winning best-seller that was later adapted into an acclaimed 1983 film, is a favorite of many constant readers. King likes it too, but unfortunately, he has almost no memory of Cujo's writing process. Cujo was written during a period where King was both high on cocaine constantly and sometimes getting blackout drunk, and in his later memoir On Writing, the author admitted he barely had any recollection of doing so. In a rather downbeat statement, King also said he wishes he could remember enjoying the best parts of the book as he was putting them down on the page.
Thankfully, Cujo's tale of a rabid St. Bernard on a rampage became a big hit anyway, during a period where King was still desperately trying to conceal his drug addiction problems from his family. King's family staged an intervention in the late 1980s, and he's been clean ever since, outside of some issues with prescription pain medication after the horrific car accident that almost killed him in 1999. Some people argue that King's writing was actually better overall when he was under the influence, but even if that were true, had he stayed on that path, who knows if King would even be around by now. Most King fans are just glad he's happy, healthy, and still turning out stories.