We wouldn't have “The Cat in The Hat” or “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” without Helen Palmer. Dr Seuss—AKA Theodor Geisel—had planned on using his artistic talents to become an English teacher, but his first wife Helen saw potential in him and pushed him to become an author. He owed his career to her—and that makes what he did to her so much more cruel.
Helen went through a series of debilitating illnesses that lasted over a decade. Before she passed on, she left a cryptic note to Geisel mentioning that she hoped his reputation wouldn’t be damaged. It was a confusing thing to say—but when Geisel remarried, it all started to make sense.
