The Last Love Song

A Biography of Joan Didion

By: Tracy Daugherty

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

In The Last Love Song, Tracy Daugherty, the critically acclaimed author of Hiding Man (a New York Times Notable book) and Just One Catch, delves deep into the life of distinguished American author and journalist Joan Didion in this, the first biography published about her life. Joan Didion lived a life in the public and private eye with her late husband, writer John Gregory Dunne, whom she met while the two were working in New York City, when Didion was at Vogue and Dunne was writing for Time. They became wildly successful writing partners when they moved to Los Angeles and cowrote screenplays and adaptations together. Didion is well known for her literary journalistic style in both fiction and nonfiction. Some of her most notable work includes Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Run River, and The Year of Magical Thinking, a National Book Award winner shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize. Daugherty takes listeners on a journey back through time, following a young Didion in Sacramento through to her adult life as a writer. Daugherty interviews those who know and knew her personally while maintaining a respectful distance from the reclusive literary great. The Last Love Song reads like fiction; lifelong fans and listeners learning about Didion for the first time will be enthralled with this impressive tribute.

©2015 Tracy Daugherty (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Joan Deserves More

The book wastes too much time summarizing not just her books but her husband's and brother-in-law's books. If someone is reading a biography about a writer they're already familiar with their work. I wanted more about her life. And there were entire sections of the book lifted so directly from Dominick Dunne's Vanity Fair articles that I'm curious if the print book is mostly footnotes.

Loving Didion

I have always loved reading Joan Didion’s books,
. Listening to this bio was of course the next step. I think Tracy Daugherty wrote an unique Didionest type bio. I loved hearing it. A must for Didion fans.

History of the Human Condition in America Through the Details of One Writer’s Life

The author weaves the story of Didion’s life with the pioneers who crossed the country and settled California, of what matters and what we leave behind.
In the end, Didion belongs to the Literary canon. She writes the particular to connect with the universal. And this autobiography makes that stunningly clear.
Didion’s lifestyle is not judged. It’s presented as matter of fact. But one can’t imagine Didion’s writing coming from any other life than the one she lived. She is presented as both part of and apart from a time, from a community.
I, for one, was struck by the “jokes” about others name-dropping, when this whole biography is page after page of name-dropping. I had no idea her web of connections was so vast.
It isn’t an easy listen. I found myself having to take days off to recover from the weight of this masterful account. It’s a much longer listen than an average book. At first, I had to slow down the pace of the narrator to sink into the world of the book. But about half way through, I went back to standard speed.
The narrator made me feel like I was hearing the voice of the author. Soothing. Calming. True.

Didion Love Song

As a lover of Didion’s work, I much enjoyed Daugherty’s weaving of Didion’s personal life through her social and political commentaries.

Worthy of rereading

I enjoyed this book, this author and every thing I’ve read so far from Joan.