Anais Nin's diary was her "ultimate confidante," and to it she revealed her private self, her doubts and weaknesses, and the uncensored details about her physical relationships. This discipline of daily writing also helped Nin develop the skills to write her edited diaries and best-selling volumes of erotica. The fourth volume of "A Journal of Love," Nearer the Moon covers the years 1937 through 1939 and continues the story begun in Fire of Nin's "dismemberment by love.".

She remains torn between three men: Henry Miller, whose detached self-immersion and artistic "impersonality" both attract and repel her; Gonzalo More, a sensitive and attentive but jealous lover who drives her to distraction; and Hugh Guiler, her faithful husband, who provides a calm center for Nin. In addition, a wide circle of family, friends, and admirers makes demands on Nin's time and emotional energy.

She is constantly busy helping people - finding apartments and rent money, taking trips to the doctor, encouraging artistic pursuits. And yet, she cannot abandon her writing - the structured world of the writer is her refuge.