“The Last Love Song; a Biography of Joan Didion by Tracy Daugherty

When I was a sophomore in college I became so crazy about a boy that I started stalking him. I’m not proud of it. But it did happen. And it is all Joan Didion’s fault. He was a junior. We were both in Northwestern’s Medill journalism program, and he worked as one of the night editors at the Daily Northwestern.  At night, I would go to the Norris bar, proud a few glasses of cheap Chablis and start calling up to the newspaper from the downstairs phone begging him to come down and play with me. Attractive, right? I know. I know. As an adult I see this is text-book-classic-crazy-girl behavior on how not to get a guy. But I was desperate for him to be the John Gregory Dunner to my Joan Didion. For as long as I can remember, I have loved not only Joan Didion’s books but also wanted her life.  Like her, I wanted to write about politics and other things that really mattered, and have super straight hair that hung about my face in a purposeful yet sexy way.  She had a husband, Joan Gregory, who adored her and they moved in and out of the Hollywood scene at whim, always celebrated and respected for not their acting, but their writing. As a card carrying Didion fan, I leaped at the chance to read this book. However, this book is not for everybody. If you have never read any Joan Didion, don’t start here. This is an in-depth investigation into the life of women who is still around, but who has sadly lost her daughter and her husband in a tragic series of events. Didion has written about her losses beautifully in “The Year of Magical Thinking” and “Blue Nights,” and everyone should read those books first. But this book turns the tables on the author and explores her childhood, her early years as a magazine writer, her marriage, her family and her later years as screenwriter. It laces together all the different public and private strands of her life, and then dives deeper. So for those who are already fans of Didion, this book will be fascinating and very gratifying. Disciples of Didion know who we are and shouldn’t miss this book. As for my John Gregory Dunne? What became of him you might ask? He found international success as a journalist, and we are now facebook friends, which makes me smile. I can talk to him any time I want, and I don’t even have to drink a sip of Chablis to get my courage up. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.