Shabazz had difficulty sleeping for weeks after Malcolm X's assassination. She suffered from nightmares in which she relived the death of her husband. She also worried about how she would support herself and her family. The publication of "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" helped, because Shabazz received half of the royalties. (Alex Haley, who assisted Malcolm X in writing the book, got the other half. After the publication of his best-seller "", Haley signed over his portion of the royalties to Shabazz.)