Due to his dependence on alcohol and other drugs, Thompson struggled so badly to write The Curse of Lono that his editor, Alan Rinzler, had to steal the manuscript, which was partially written on scraps of paper.
Thompson's dependence on liquor and narcotics made it nearly impossible for him to finish The Curse of Lono, prompting his editor to seize the manuscript, which was mostly composed of fragmented notes on scraps of paper.