Cyra McFadden obit

Remembering ‘The Serial’ writer, Cyra McFadden 

She was not on the list.

She lived on a houseboat in Sausalito, California.

McFadden's 1977 novel The Serial: A Year in the Life of Marin County satirized the trendy lifestyles of the affluent residents of Marin County, California, just north of San Francisco. The book was made into a 1980 movie called Serial, starring Tuesday Weld and Martin Mull.

In 1986, McFadden wrote a memoir entitled Rain or Shine: A Family Memoir, in which she described her childhood growing up as the daughter of James C. "Cy" Taillon, a well-known rodeo announcer. The book was a finalist for the Pulitzer that year. After being out of print for several years, Rain or Shine was reprinted in 1998.

McFadden wrote a biweekly column for the San Francisco Examiner for six years, mostly in the 1980s, and was also a features writer for that daily newspaper.

She was born in Great Falls, Montana, and spent much of her childhood traveling with her parents on the rodeo circuit and living in Missoula, Montana.