Jacqueline Susann hated the film; after its November premiere aboard the passenger liner, "Princess Italia", she confronted the film's director, Mark Robson, and stated, "This picture is a piece of shit." In 2001, author Rae Lawrence published a continuation of "Valley of the Dolls", titled "Jacqueline Susann's Shadow of the Dolls" (Crown), which was reputedly based on notes left by Susann for an intended sequel. In its review, "Publishers Weekly" stated, "This tedious, tame sequel is aptly titled, as it languishes deep in the shadow of the original... Susann's original still packs a wallop; the sequel is a pulled punch." Susann's second
Once Is Not Enough frontal nudity, in a complex story which reflects the social upheavals of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Jacqueline Susann initially called the novel "The Big Man", but changed her mind after visiting comedian Joe E. Lewis on his deathbed. Lewis, who had famously said, "You only live once - but if you work it right, once is enough," apparently reconsidered, for he told Susann, "Once is "not" enough." Susann was diagnosed with cancer two months before the book's scheduled publication date. Her usual efforts at promotion—including a grueling book tour—had to be curtailed. But Susann soldiered on; as her