TN10: Evelyn McDonnell, Storyteller and Joan Didion Biographer

Evelyn McDonnell and the cover art for her newly released book, The World According to Joan Didion (Photos: Courtesy of the author).

Your Age: 58

Basic bio: Evelyn McDonnell has been writing about popular culture and society for more than 20 years. She is the author of five books; her most recent, The World According to Joan Didion (Harper One), released last month. McDonnell’s writing on culture, women, music, literature, poetry, theater, and nature has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Ms., Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Spin, Travel & Leisure, Us Weekly, Billboard, Vibe, Interview, and more. She teaches the next generation of journalists at Loyola Marymount University.

Beyond the bio: I feel fortunate in many ways: I have a beautiful house, family, and pets, and I get to write and swim almost every day, usually in the Pacific Ocean, in the summers in Lake Superior. Still, I struggle to be seen and heard, as ever.

What makes you a grown-ass lady? I’m over pleasing others. Now is the time to live the life you want to live, not one people pushed you into or that you thought you wanted to live.

Here’s her TueNight 10:

1. On the nightstand: Twist by Adele Bertei, Why Willie Mae Thornton Matters by Lynnée Denise, The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earling, So Big by Edna Ferber, Our History Is the Future by Nick Estes.

2. What I’m listening to: “Guts” by Olivia Rodrigo. “Getting Better” by Bouquet.

3. Latest fave find: Agates from Lake Superior.

4. What was your first job: Bussing tables at a restaurant.

5. How do you celebrate your birthday: With cake, always.

6. What do you like/hate about getting older: While I resent the invisibility that can hide women over a certain age, I also like to use it as a superhero cloak.

7. Who has influenced you the most and why: My mother. She was so smart, but also giving and caring.

8. Thing you miss about the past: My clock radio.

9. Best thing that happened recently: The fall of the house of Jann Wenner.

10. What are you looking forward to: A woman president of the United States.