Joan Didion

Joan Didion is the author of Blue Nights and the main character in the memoir. By the time she is writing this book, she has had a long and successful career as a writer of nonfiction, novels, and screenplays. Her career success is hinted at throughout the book through her mention of business travels, film shoots, LA lifestyle, and close celebrity friendships. While Didion's career and identity as a successful writer are present throughout the book, they are not the focus of her character. Most of all, Didion writes about her family life, in particular her role as mother to her adopted daughter Quintana Roo.

Writing after the deaths of both her husband and her daughter, Didion is consumed with the themes of death, grief, illness, and aging. She both reflects on the illnesses and losses of her loved ones, and on her own health and...