“Another thing I need to do, when I'm near the end of the book, is sleep in the same room with it...Somehow the book doesn't leave you when you're asleep right next to it.”

American writer and journalist of the late 20th century, Didion’s work is defined by its sharp, unflinching prose and exploration of cultural disorientation. She is best known for her essays on California’s shifting identity, her memoir *The Year of Magical Thinking* on grief, and her novel *Play It As It Lays*, which dissects existential detachment.