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In this memoir, Isabel Allende reconstructs the painful reality of her own life in the wake of tragic loss--the death of her daughter, Paula. Recalling the past thirteen years from the daily letters the author and her mother, who lives in Chile, wrote to each other, Allende ... recounts the stories of the wildly eccentric, strong-minded, and eclectic tribe she gathers around her that becomes a new kind of family. Throughout, Allende shares her thoughts on love, marriage, motherhood, spirituality and religion, infidelity, addiction, and memory. Here, too, are the amazing stories behind Allende's books, the superstitions that guide her writing process, and her adventurous travels.--From amazon.com.… (more)
Memoir of Isabel's life after the death of her daughter Paula. She discovers and embraces a "new kind of family" that is based on shared experiences (fun, support, etc) that bind us to one another.
This definition of family is relevant and current. I liked reading that someone who identifies family as an important anchor in our lives, has found a successful way to make a new kind of family that is different from what you are born to/or create through marriage and birth.
Nice to read! As always, she is insightful, honest and comes across as someone I can deeply admire. ( )
Didn't enjoy this as much as all her other books. She seemed to be gathering and dispersing information about family members and friends rather than engaging in a narrative of interest to her readers. ( )
I enjoyed the style of this memoir, as well as the exposure to a different way of living. It seems to me that she wrote this for her readers, and it probably wasn't the best book of hers to read first since I'm not familiar with any of her books. ( )
I loved it - what else can I say? If you are a fan of Isabel Allende, this book is a must. It reads much more like a novel than a memoir. It has all the beauty of language that I expect from this author. (I must give credit to the translator, because even though Allende is fluent in English, she writes in Spanish and then collaborates closely with the translator.) It sounds very much like a cliche, but this book is about life, death, love, sex, children, marriage, divorce, democracy, war, frindships, writing, art, parents, Chile, acceptance, growing old and about 50 other things. After reading the book, I felt like I wanted to be a part of her extended family. ( )
Information from the Spanish Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
"En estos años sin ti, he aprendido a manejar la tristeza, a hacerla mi aliada. Poco a poco tu ausencia y otras pérdidas de mi vida se van convirtiendo en una dulce nostalgia. Eso es lo que pretendo en mi tambaleante práctica espiritual: deshacerme de los sentimientos negativos que impiden caminar con soltura"
"La tristeza se manifestaba en las noches en vela, la ropa oscura, el deseo de vivir en una cueva de anacoreta y la ausencia de inspiración. Llamaba a las musas en vano. Hasta la musa más zarrapastrosa me había abandonado. Para alguien que vive para escribir y vive de lo que escribe, la sequía interior es aterradora".
In this memoir, Isabel Allende reconstructs the painful reality of her own life in the wake of tragic loss--the death of her daughter, Paula. Recalling the past thirteen years from the daily letters the author and her mother, who lives in Chile, wrote to each other, Allende ... recounts the stories of the wildly eccentric, strong-minded, and eclectic tribe she gathers around her that becomes a new kind of family. Throughout, Allende shares her thoughts on love, marriage, motherhood, spirituality and religion, infidelity, addiction, and memory. Here, too, are the amazing stories behind Allende's books, the superstitions that guide her writing process, and her adventurous travels.--From amazon.com.
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This definition of family is relevant and current. I liked reading that someone who identifies family as an important anchor in our lives, has found a successful way to make a new kind of family that is different from what you are born to/or create through marriage and birth.
Nice to read! As always, she is insightful, honest and comes across as someone I can deeply admire. (