Born in 1934, Joan Didion is a renowned essayist, novelist, and screenwriter, best known for her literary journalism and memoirs.
After graduation, Didion worked for Vogue magazine for seven years, first as a copywriter and later as an editor. While working there she wrote her first novel, Run River (1963), a book that examines the disintegration of a California family.
Much of Didion’s work explores the disintegration of American morals and cultural chaos; her most celebrated writing has been in the form of essays and the most predominant theme of her work is individual and social fragmentation.
In 2005, Didion published The
Year of Magical Thinking which was immediately acclaimed as a classic book
about mourning. The novel won the National Book Award for Nonfiction and was a
finalist for both the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize
for Biography/Autobiography.
If you want to learn more about Didion’s remarkable career
and personal struggles, you can watch the Netflix documentary The Center Will Not Hold.
Here are 22 incredible Joan Didion quotes on self-respect and loss:
Flavia Medrut is a freelance writer, researcher and part-time psychologist. She believes music, long walks and a good sense of humor are imperative in keeping one’s sanity.