“If I recall correctly from ‘On the Road’ Kerouac was raised by his aunt? I don’t recall him mentioning his parents in the book.”
That was the factionalized part.
His “Aunt” was his mother (a widow).
His character in the book was Italian, he was French Canadian.
“Dean had a sweater wrapped around his ears to keep warm. He said we were a band of Arabs coming in to blow up New York.” -On The Road (1957)
Thanks. It reads so much like non-fiction that you forget the ‘names were changed to protect the innocent.’