![]() “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” “We tell ourselves stories in order to live”, the first sentence in Didion’s 1979 essay collection, The White Album, has become a hashtag. Snapshots of her books placed strategically on sleek coffee tables, or cracked open by poolsides flood Instagram and Twitter feeds across the globe. With the rise of social media, her following has molded into a cult of internet savvy female followers. ![]() Since her arrival in Los Angeles in 1964, Didion has become a literary icon. She left us with sixteen books, seven films, a play, and at least two generations of writers influenced by her unique style and calculated craft.Īs a female writer and a California native myself, obsessing over Didion is practically my birthright. She was honored with The National Medal of Arts from Obama and a PEN USA lifetime achievement award in 2013. Didion was a pioneer of ‘new journalism’ – long form reporting marked by the writer’s point of view. When Joan Didion died on December 23, 2021, there was an outpouring of national grief. ![]()
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