his wife was bothered by the fact that he spent more time working on the manuscript than with her, and separated from him not long after it was finished. kerouac spent the next six years making changes and improvements to the manuscript, until a publisher agreed to print it as a book. cassady's name was changed to "dean moriarty", to make the book appear more fictional than it really was. kerouac delivered one of the first printed copies of "on the road" in person to cassady, who did not give kerouac the reaction he expected. instead of being happy and proud, cassady seemed disturbed and scared, by knowing that part of his life was now in print, and his character documented for the public to see.