Overview

• ‘Notes to John,’ released on April 22, 2025, compiles Joan Didion’s therapy session notes from 1999 to 2002, discovered after her death in 2021.
• The writings focus on Didion’s concerns about her daughter Quintana Roo Dunne’s alcoholism and their deeply interdependent relationship.
• Previously unknown details, including Didion’s secret battle with breast cancer, are revealed in the notes, offering new perspectives on her life.
• The publication has sparked discussions about editorial transparency, as no editor is credited and Didion’s intent for these private writings remains unclear.
• The notes, part of the Didion-Dunne archive at the New York Public Library, provide a raw and personal complement to Didion’s later works on grief and loss.