Chapter 10 Summary and Analysis

Didion introduces the idea of "the vortex effect" and defines it by example - the time when, at Beth Israel Hospital with Quintana during her first stay, how she avoided thinking about the situation by taking a trip back into memory but found that doing so she found a memory she didn't want to recall. She comments that in general, the memory vortex sucked her into a place where memories of those she loved lay waiting to catch her by surprise.

Didion realized early in her stay in California that Los Angeles was full of potentially dangerous triggers for "the vortex effect", and describes her determination to avoid those triggers, partially by steering clear of any potential reminders of her past and partially by immersing herself in routine. However, manifestations of "the vortex effect" were unavoidable. It is during a series...