Beloved author Joan Didion has passed away. The American writer was 87-years-old and reportedly passed after a battle with Parkinson’s disease. The news was announced by Paul Bogaards, an executive at Didion’s publisher Knopf via an email. Didion was known for writing on American society and blending personal and political commentary.
Joan Didion Passes Away At 87
The author started her career as a journalist holding her own alongside popular male journalists like Tom Wolf and Truman Capote. Didion’s work often reflected trying times in her life including her memoir, “A Year of Magical Thinking” released in 2005 which reflected on her first year as a widow after losing her late husband John Gregory Dunne.
She won a Pulitzer prize for the revealing memoir. More notable works by Didion include “Play It As It Lays”, and “Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays”. Her mix of fiction and non-fiction work allotted her to have a variety of fans.
Knofp’s statement read, “We are deeply saddened to report that Joan Didion died earlier this morning at her home in New York due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. She was eighty-seven.”
Joan Didion’s Last Work Was With Netflix
While Didion was known for her written work, she did that less as she got older. One of the last times fans got to see the writer was during a 2018 Netflix documentary by her nephew Griffin Dunne, titled Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold.
Her final book was a collection of notes during her travels around the south in the 1970s released in 2017. More specifically, Didion traveled around Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana and juxtaposed the era to the Trump presidency based on the voters.
She also spoke with The Guardian when it was released, marked as one of the last interviews she did. She noted this of her work. “I suppose the crisis in American politics was behind everything I was thinking, whether or not I knew I was thinking it. These things have a way of creeping in. I think we currently are living through the scariest of times.”
Joan Didion Passes Away, Social Media Reacts
As expected, the writer’s fans are expressing their upset over her passing on social media calling it a “staggering loss” for all. “Joan Didion, rather literally, wrote the book on navigating grief (“The Year of Magical Thinking”). If you don’t know much about her and her career, her nephew Griffin Dunne made a great documentary (on Netflix), JOAN DIDION: THE CENTER WILL NOT HOLD. #RIPJoanDidion,” wrote film critic Courtney Howard.
Even before her passing, the author touched the hearts of many including former President Barak Obama who described her as an important figure to our generation. Emma Robert’s is also a self-proclaimed Joan Didion superfan, picking one of the author’s novels as the first to read in her book club.
Joan Didion, Bell Hooks, Eve Babitz Pass Away
The author is one of a few poignant, prolific, female writers to pass away in 2021. She joins African-American, feminist author Bell Hooks who passed away on December 15. Also known for her writing on grief, and black feminist thoughts.
Eve Babitz also passed away this year on December 17, she was an American visual artist and wrote semi-fictional memoirs. R.I.P to these legends.
