Revered author and essayist Joan Didion has died at 87 from complications due to Parkinson’s disease.

Her classic The Year of Magical Thinking about grief won the National Book Award and her essay collections The White Album and Slouching Towards Bethlehem have become standard reading.

Her provocative social commentary and unique literary voice made her a popular critic for a turbulent time.

Didion received a U-S National Humanities Medal in 2012, when she was praised for devoting her life to noticing things other people strive not to see.