I've never kept a diary. But if I had, I'd want it destroyed when I die
"Many diarists feel that way: Sheila Hancock wrote about destroying decades' worth of hers: Maybe this vicious, verging-on-insane woman is the real me, but if it is I don't want my daughters to find out."
Joan Didion's Archive Opens, Shining a Light on the Elusive Literary Icon
The person beneath the published voice remains elusive. By design, the mortal Joan stayed hidden. Despite the directness of her prose, one can never quite work out what she's really trying to say.