Joan Didion Reads From New Memoir, Blue Nights, in Short Film Directed by Griffin Dunne

A mere twenty months after Joan Didion’s husband, John Gregory Dunne, died of a heart attack, Didion’s only child, Quintana Roo Dunne, contracted pneumonia, lapsed into septic shock and passed away. She was only 39 years old. Didion grappled with the first death in her 2005 bestseller, The Year of Magical Thinking. Now, with her new memoir Blue Nights, she turns to her child’s passing, to a parent’s worst fear realized. In this short film shot by her nephew, director Griffin Dunne, Didion reads from Blue Nights. The scene opens with memories from her daughter’s wedding and ends with some big existential questions and the refrain, “When we talk about mortality we are talking about our children.”

This “audiobook for the eyes,” as Griffin Dunne calls it, runs six plus minutes. (You can watch another segment here.) The actual Blue Nights audio book is now available on Audible, and you can snag a free copy via this longstanding deal.

A big thanks goes to @opedr for sending the Didion clip our way…