People wonder if she's real. Oh, she's real.

July 29, 2017 1:57 PM

E. Jean Carroll lives alone on an island in the woods. [SL Facebook video, no login required] The world's longest-running advice columnist - for Elle Magazine - wakes at noon because, "I never thought much went on in the morning, anyway." [via Austin Kleon]

For more on her life as probably the only title holder of Miss Cheerleader USA to write a biography of Hunter S. Thompson, check out this Observer profile from 2015.

posted by Gin and Broadband (15 comments total)

I really enjoyed this, thank you!
posted by bird internet at 2:33 PM on July 29, 2017

That was a fun video. I loved clandestinely reading my oldest sister's Elles in the 90's and would always flip to E. Jean's column first. She could make every reader's problem feel navigable. I haven't picked up a fashion mag since my teens, but I'll definitely pick up an Elle for my next flight now.

Her comment about staying up late worrying about the advice she gives, that she knows her advice will probably change a life for better or worse, makes me wonder how readers who followed E. Jean's advice turned out.

And yeah, if I'm living alone in the woods at 75, that's one of the best ways to do it.
posted by perrouno at 3:15 PM on July 29, 2017 [2 favorites]

Holy shit she is fantastic where has this woman been all my life
posted by Caxton1476 at 3:53 PM on July 29, 2017 [6 favorites]

Lovely!
posted by Oyéah at 3:58 PM on July 29, 2017

That is pretty fabulous.
posted by maggiemaggie at 4:05 PM on July 29, 2017

Oh wow. I've never read Elle so I wasn't familiar with her. I'm the antithesis of "quirky" but she's my new role model. Quelle joie de vivre!
posted by AFABulous at 6:08 PM on July 29, 2017 [1 favorite]

For those of us who'd rather suck on a dead rat fresh from a landfill rather than join Facebook **, there are some E. Jean videos on Youtube.

** Or those who might suspect this is a native advertisement
posted by Twang at 6:09 PM on July 29, 2017 [4 favorites]

...For the first time in my entire 47 years of life I have a role model.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:00 PM on July 29, 2017 [2 favorites]

Elle and Marie Claire generally both have fairly good interviews and pretty pictures but if I'm buying a magazine for a train ride Elle always gets the edge due to E Jean. She's a gem.
posted by fshgrl at 10:21 PM on July 29, 2017 [1 favorite]

Well. I just spent the last hour watching her youtube videos. She's a blast!!
posted by KleenexMakesaVeryGoodHat at 10:33 PM on July 29, 2017

Awesome
posted by Joseph Gurl at 11:17 PM on July 29, 2017

The first time I'd heard of E. Jean Carroll was in the late 90s when I picked up her biography of Hunter Thompson. And I recall a certain empathy in that book for the mad, trapped, and mythical beast he'd made of himself. I've seen her name from time to time since, but I was only vaguely aware of her other work. I'm so glad to see that she's been able to channel her eccentricities and quirks in a way that seems far less destructive to herself and those around her than was ever the case with Hunter.
posted by MarchHare at 1:06 AM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

E Jean has empathy for everyone. Love in the Time of Magic: one of her classics. She's such a great writer.
posted by fshgrl at 2:15 AM on July 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

Who does she remind me of?
posted by serena15221 at 10:22 AM on July 30, 2017

wow, she is living the dream.
posted by zdravo at 12:29 PM on July 30, 2017