Notes to John

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

‘Utterly fascinating’ NEW YORK TIMES

‘An act of intimate storytelling’ VOGUE

‘A profound, rich document’ NEW STATESMAN

A deeply moving, newly discovered journal from one of America’s most iconic writers, Joan Didion, the author of The Year of Magical Thinking and Blue Nights.

A pile of neatly typed pages was found in Joan Didion’s office after her death. She had meticulously recorded her weekly sessions with a psychiatrist. As far as anyone knows, the pages had been read by only one other person: Didion’s husband, John Gregory Dunne.

The sessions began as a method of dealing with the heartbreaking alcoholism of their adult daughter, Quintana. Discussions broadened into revelations about Didion's own childhood, marriage, work and ‘what’s been worth’.

Writing was the way Didion dealt with life. Notes to John presents a riveting account of the therapeutic process, crafted with the singular intelligence, precision and elegance that characterise all of her work.

‘Compulsive … what an experience it is, watching Didion beat back tragedy with her brilliant mind’ TELEGRAPH

‘So moving … a record of trying to save a life, and understand her own’ NEW YORK TIMES

‘An incredibly intimate insight’ GUARDIAN

‘A chance to meet Didion's gaze head-on, eye to eye, with only a waft of cigarette smoke breaking the silence’ ANOTHER

‘An intimate chronicle … offers readers a key to Didion's persona and her work’ NPR

‘A tour de force from one of the best’ PEOPLE

'Notes to John' was a New York Times bestseller w/c 2025-04-28.

About the author

JOAN DIDION was the author of five novels, twelve books of nonfiction, a play and many screenplays. She was born in California. She died at her home in New York City on 23 December 2021.