Adieux: A Farewell to Sartre

The narrative begins in 1970 and follows changes in Sartre's eyesight, health, writing, political activity, and daily care. Beauvoir avoids the consoling shape of a heroic final chapter, sometimes describing physical decline with a bluntness readers have found both honest and difficult.

The conversations printed with the book in many editions were recorded in 1974. They cover work, politics, relationships, and the partnership itself. They are not a neutral transcript of two equal autobiographies: Beauvoir chose the questions, edited the material, and published it after Sartre's death.

A dated account follows Sartre and Beauvoir through travel, interviews, political commitments, illness, and increasing need for care during the 1970s.

Sartre's death and funeral close the narrative without resolving the private and public conflicts surrounding his last years.

The appended conversations let Sartre review his life and ideas in response to Beauvoir's sustained questioning.