Beginning with the publication of The Diary of Anaïs Nin in 1966, which catapulted the long-neglected Nin to literary fame, and ending with diary entries written only days before her death, A Joyous Transformation describes the incredible change of Nin's fortunes. Suddenly critical praise, commercial success, invitations to lecture, TV interviews, a documentary film, and finally enough money to travel the world and support herself and her aging husband, all the while attempting to balance her double life (a husband in New York, another in Los Angeles), Nin felt she had "arrived." At the pinnacle of her popularity, however, she was diagnosed with cancer and would depend solely on her LA husband's loving care and devotion while her relationship with her NY husband crumbled. The final chapter of the life of an icon.