**Joan Didion, a Chronicler of Her Time and Ours, Dies at 87**
Joan Didion, an influential essayist, novelist and screenwriter whose unflinching and fiercely intelligent writing created a singular body of work examining the complexities of California, the American Dream, and the search for meaning in the face of loss and disillusionment, died Thursday at her home in Manhattan. She was 87.
Her death was announced by her publisher, Knopf, which said the cause was complications from Parkinson’s disease.
Over a long and distinguished career, Didion dissected the American psyche with acuity and candor, mining her own experiences to produce a body of work that continues to resonate with readers today.
Her 1968 essay collection, .
