Cyra mcfadden biography graphic organizer

Long time Main Dock resident Cyra McFadden passed away recently, leaving behind an “only in Marin” legacy. In the 70s, Cyra wrote a satirical look at the New Age heyday hereabouts, which first appeared each week in the Pacific Sun.

It was eventually published by Knopf in a spiral bound, cardboard-covered, illustrated novel titled The Serial: A Year in the Life of Marin County, and became a national sensation: a graphic novel long before its time.

Cyra was thrust into the harsh glare of celebrity, and that came with some unpleasant surprises.

In a 2016 oral history for the Mill Valley Historical Society, Cyra recounted the mixed reception of the novel, and recalled the shock of suddenly becoming a public figure.

“Lots of people were very supportive and thought the book was funny, which was its intention, but there were a lot of people who took it very personally,” Cyra told interviewer Debra Schwartz.

“There were editorials in the IJ that I should love it or leave it, and there