I'm no expert, but I think you are correct. The "well-documented" is Karr talking about Wallace and then other people writing what Karr said. That's often the

I'm no expert, but I think you are correct. The "well-documented" is Karr talking about Wallace and then other people writing what Karr said. That's often the case with domestic violence. Adrienne Miller’s memoir of her time at Esquire contains some description of DFW being a jerk, but not physically abusive.