She was thirty - nine .
After making progress toward recovery in 2004 , Quintana died of acute pancreatitis on August 26 , 2005 , during Didion 's New York promotion for The Year of Magical Thinking .
Didion was thirty - nine .
After making progress toward recovery in 2004 , Quintana died of acute pancreatitis on August 26 , 2005 , during Didion 's New York promotion for The Year of Magical Thinking .