She workshopped the book at a critique group she called the "Meat and Books Club" (named for the Atkins diet two of its writers were on). The chapters about her relationship with Rice, where Carver writes that Rice insisted she get an abortion to end her second pregnancy and was violent toward her, were difficult for her to write.
She revised the book at a critique group she named "Meat and Books Club" (after the Atkins diet two of its members were on). The sections detailing her relationship with Rice, where Carver states that Rice pressured her to have an abortion to terminate her second pregnancy and was abusive towards her, were challenging for her to write.