--- product_id: 639166767 title: "We Tell Ourselves Stories: Joan Didion and the American Dream Machine" brand: "alissa wilkinson" price: "24583CFA" currency: XOF in_stock: true reviews_count: 4 url: https://www.desertcart.sn/products/639166767-we-tell-ourselves-stories-joan-didion-and-the-american-dream store_origin: SN region: Senegal --- # We Tell Ourselves Stories: Joan Didion and the American Dream Machine **Brand:** alissa wilkinson **Price:** 24583CFA **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** We Tell Ourselves Stories: Joan Didion and the American Dream Machine by alissa wilkinson - **How much does it cost?** 24583CFA with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sn](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/639166767-we-tell-ourselves-stories-joan-didion-and-the-american-dream) ## Best For - alissa wilkinson enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted alissa wilkinson brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Longlisted for the 2025 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction Most Anticipated Books of 2025 • Washington Post , Los Angeles Times , W Magazine , The Millions Best Books of Spring 2025 • Oprah Daily , Town & Country “Sharp, elegant and eye-opening . . . a crucial toolbox for understanding both Joan Didion and Hollywood.” ―Emily Nussbaum Joan Didion opened The White Album (1979) with what would become one of the most iconic lines in American literature: “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” Today, this phrase is deployed inspirationally, printed on T-shirts and posters, used as a battle cry for artists and writers. In truth, Didion was describing something much less rosy: our human tendency to manufacture delusions that might ward away our anxieties when society seems to spin off its axis. Nowhere was this collective hallucination more effectively crafted than in Hollywood. In this riveting cultural biography, New York Times film critic Alissa Wilkinson examines Joan Didion’s influence through the lens of American mythmaking. As a young girl, Didion was infatuated with John Wayne and his on-screen bravado, and was fascinated by her California pioneer ancestry and the infamous Donner Party. The mythos that preoccupied her early years continued to influence her work as a magazine writer and film critic in New York, offering glimmers of the many stories Didion told herself that would come to unravel over the course of her career. But out west, show business beckoned. We Tell Ourselves Stories eloquently traces Didion’s journey from New York to her arrival in Hollywood as a screenwriter at the twilight of the old studio system. She spent much of her adult life deeply embroiled in the glitz and glamor of the Los Angeles elite, where she acutely observed―and denounced―how the nation’s fears and dreams were sensationalized on screen. Meanwhile, she paid the bills writing movie scripts like A Star Is Born , while her books propelled her to celestial heights of fame. Peering through a scrim of celluloid, Wilkinson incisively dissects the cinematic motifs and machinations that informed Didion’s writing―and how her writing, ultimately, demonstrated Hollywood’s addictive grasp on the American imagination. More than a portrait of a writer, We Tell Ourselves Stories shines a new light on a legacy whose impact will be felt for generations. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Dimensions | 6.3 x 1.1 x 9.3 inches | | Isbn 10 | 1324092610 | | Isbn 13 | 978-1324092612 | | Item Weight | 1.01 pounds | | Language | English | | Print Length | 272 pages | | Publication Date | March 11, 2025 | | Publisher | Liveright | ## Images ![We Tell Ourselves Stories: Joan Didion and the American Dream Machine - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71s0b5wYNJL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very Well Written Story *by on Reviewed in the United States May 31, 2026* Very well written and insightful bio of Joan Didion. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Life Changes in the Instant *by on Reviewed in the United States March 27, 2025* This brilliant effort by critic Alissa Wilkinson explores Joan Didion's writing throughly, and discusses many of the ways the movies influenced her. Didion may have been the first to pick up on the way American politics has become a Hollywood production.I have read several of Didion's novels, and most of her non fiction books, but Wilkinson is well informed on both.From a perspective of 60 odd years, it is now pretty clear that Didion was the writer who got the 60s right, with her books Slouching Toward Bethlehem and The White Album, capturing both the events and the public reaction to them. Of the Manson killings: "I remember no one was surprised." Of The Cold War: "It seemed very hot at the time."In the late 20th century, she recognized much of Reagan's foreign policy initiatives as driven by Reagan casting himself in the role of John Wayne.While I loved the book, I think the author may have missed an opportunity by not giving us much insight into John Gregory Dunne, her husband and script writing partner when they moved back to California. It would have helped detail the couple's Hollywood years, and helped set the stage for Didion's late in life masterpiece, The Year of Magical Thinking, which she wrote following his sudden, massive, fatal heart attack.Personally, I just don't agree with the critics, Wilkinson included, who regard Magical Thinking as an outlier in Didion's work, as it was so deeply personal. I feel she was a hard nosed reporter here as always, and in this book just turned the lens inward. (She was 71 when the book was published, and it is rare that great art is produced at that age.).The book's strengths include detailing the writing process in several media - prose, film and theater.Highly recommended and I don't think you have to be a Joan Didion fan to enjoy it. Of course, it helps, and I suspect her fans are the intended audience. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Classic Didion! *by on Reviewed in the United States June 10, 2025* For Didion lovers, there are never enough of her works to grow dull! --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.sn/products/639166767-we-tell-ourselves-stories-joan-didion-and-the-american-dream](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/639166767-we-tell-ourselves-stories-joan-didion-and-the-american-dream) --- *Product available on Desertcart Senegal* *Store origin: SN* *Last updated: 2026-09-20*