during his years of working different jobs, rearing children, and trying to write, carver started to drink heavily. he said that he eventually more or less gave up writing and started drinking all of the time. in the fall semester of 1973, carver was a teacher in the iowa writers' workshop with john cheever, but carver said that they did less teaching than drinking and almost no writing. the next year, after leaving iowa city, cheever went to a treatment center to try to overcome his alcoholism, but carver continued drinking for three years. after going in the hospital three times (between june 1976 and february or march 1977), carver began his 'second life' and stopped drinking on june 2, 1977, with the help of alcoholics anonymous.