About the Author

Isabel Allende won worldwide acclaim in 1982 with the publication of her first novel, The House of the Spirits. Since then, she has authored twenty-five bestselling and critically acclaimed books, which have been translated into more than forty-two languages. In addition to her work as a writer, Allende devotes much of her time to human rights causes. In 1996, following the death of her daughter, Paula Frias, she established a charitable foundation in her honor, which has awarded grants to more than one hundred nonprofits worldwide on behalf of women and girls. In 2014, President Barack Obama awarded Allende the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, and in 2018 she received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation. She has also received PEN Center USA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Raised in Chile, she now lives in California.

Reviews

Praise for the books of Isabel Allende

The Sum of Our Days: A Memoir

“[Isabel] Allende is a genius.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review

“[Allende] executes this epistolary memoir with the same authenticity and poetry that grace her fiction. . . . Allende is a survivor worth reading and emulating.”—The Dallas Morning News

My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile

“Charming and entertaining.”—The New York Times Book Review

“A stunningly intimate memoir . . . Allende is that rare writer whose understanding of story matches her mastery of language.”—Entertainment Weekly

Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses

“Allende’s vivacity and wit are in full bloom as she makes her pronouncements. . . . Her book is filled with succinct wisdom and big laughs. . . . As always, her secret weapon is honesty.”—Publishers Weekly

“Allende teases, tempts and titillates with mesmerizing stories.”—The Washington Post

Paula: A Memoir

“Allende has an exciting life story to tell.”—Booklist

“A magician with words.”—Publishers Weekly