 Salinger 's family life was further marked by discord after the first child was born ; according to Margaret 's book , Claire felt that her daughter had replaced her in Salinger 's affections . The infant Margaret was sick much of the time , but Salinger , having embraced the tenets of Christian Science , refused to take her to a doctor . According to Margaret , her mother admitted to her years later that she went " over the edge " in the winter of 1957 and had made plans to murder her and then commit suicide . Claire had supposedly intended to do it during a trip to New York City with Salinger , but she instead acted on a sudden impulse to take Margaret from the hotel and run away . After a few months , Salinger persuaded her to return to Cornish . 
