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Notes to John
Notes to John | Joan Didion
4 posts | 2 read
An extraordinary work from the author of The Year of Magical Thinking and Blue NightsIn November 1999, Joan Didion began seeing a psychiatrist because, as she wrote to a friend, her family had had "a rough few years." She described the sessions in a journal she created for her husband, John Gregory Dunne. For several months, Didion recorded conversations with the psychiatrist in meticulous detail. The initial sessions focused on alcoholism, adoption, depression, anxiety, guilt, and the heartbreaking complexities of her relationship with her daughter, Quintana. The subjects evolved to include her work, which she was finding difficult to maintain for sustained periods. There were discussions about her own childhood--misunderstandings and lack of communication with her mother and father, her early tendency to anticipate catastrophe--and the question of legacy, or, as she put it, "what it's been worth." The analysis would continue for more than a decade. Didion's journal was crafted with the singular intelligence, precision, and elegance that characterize all of her writing. It is an unprecedently intimate account that reveals sides of her that were unknown, but the voice is unmistakably hers--questioning, courageous, and clear in the face of a wrenchingly painful journey.
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review
britt_brooke
Notes to John | Joan Didion
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Mehso-so

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I‘m not a completist (yet), but I‘ve loved everything I‘ve read by Didion. This was too intimate. None of our business. I doubt she would‘ve ever wanted these “notes” published, and I regret reading them. Still, her words are thoughtful. But this made me feel like a voyeur of her family‘s pain.

Ruthiella I am no where near to being a completist, but I‘ll skip this. 2w
britt_brooke @Ruthiella Good choice. 2w
59 likes2 comments
blurb
britt_brooke
Notes to John | Joan Didion
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A very toasty walk on a greenway I don‘t often visit, but my son has soccer training next to it this morning. It‘s very jungle-y in Tennessee right now, but still mostly pretty. This heat, though. Whew.

#audiowalk

CBee Jungle-y is right 🥵🥵 4w
britt_brooke @CBee 🤣 (edited) 4w
CBee @britt_brooke I‘m in Alabama and just went out on the screened porch for maybe, five minutes? And I‘m drenched in sweat 😓 now 🤪 (edited) 4w
britt_brooke @CBee It‘s oppressive! Literally takes no time to break a sweat. 4w
64 likes4 comments
review
BekaReid
Notes to John | Joan Didion
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Pickpick

Wrapping up the month with Notes to John. This one is hard to review. It feels a bit intrusive and a bit wrong to say enjoyable. But Didion's writing is always gold and this was definitely an interesting read.