Lidia Yuknavitch

Lidia Yuknavitch ( ; born June 18, 1963) is an American writer, teacher and editor based in Oregon. She is the author of the memoir The Chronology of Water, and the novels The Small Backs of Children, Dora: A Headcase, and The Book of Joan. She is also known for her TED talk, "The Beauty of Being a Misfit", and its associated book, The Misfit's Manifesto.

Early life Lidia Yukman was born on June 18, 1963, in San Francisco, California, and raised in a Catholic family. Her father verbally, physically, and sexually abused her and her older sister, and her alcoholic mother did not intervene. As a teen, she was noticed by a "caring and methodical coach," who helped her move toward her dream of becoming a competitive swimmer. The family moved to Florida for additional training, and Yuknavitch began abusing alcohol. Yuknavitch had hopes of qualifying for the United States Olympic swimming team, but her own drug and alcohol abuse ended her competitive swimming career. which later became 2 Gyrlz Performative Arts. She studied under Ken Kesey at the University of Oregon and earned her Ph.D. in English literature there. Exquisite Corpse, and TANK.

Yuknavitch is associated with fellow Oregon writers Chuck Palahniuk, who wrote the introduction to her novel Dora: A Headcase; Chelsea Cain, who wrote the introduction to The Chronology of Water;

Yuknavitch's 2011 memoir, The Chronology of Water, has developed a strong following. A Huffington Post book review noted that two years after being published, the book "keeps popping up on blogs and social media feeds." Yuknavitch said she started writing the book as a kind of dare after talking to Chuck Palahniuk about memoir at the end of a meeting of their writers' group. The title comes from a short story Yuknavitch wrote in a writing workshop with Diana Abu-Jaber.

The film adaptation of The Chronology of Water, written and directed by Kristen Stewart, premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2025. At Cannes and upon its theatrical release in late 2025, the film received largely positive reviews from critics, with Sheila O'Malley at RogerEbert.com writing,"Stewart boldly evokes the source material."

Dora: A Headcase, is Yuknavitch's novel about "Dora", the subject of a famous case study by Sigmund Freud. Yuknavitch wrote that she wanted to "give Dora back her voice and 'talk back' to Freud." In 2014, the book was optioned for a movie by Katherine Brooks.

Random House published Yuknavitch's first short story collection, Verge, on February 4, 2020.

Reading the Waves, published in 2025, won the 2026 Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Literature.

Personal life Yuknavitch has had romantic relationships with both men and women, including Kathy Acker. She has been married three times. She lives in Eugene, Oregon. She and her ex-husband, the filmmaker Andy Mingo, have one son together, Miles.