The soul of a woman : on impatient love, long life, and good witches / Isabel Allende ; [English translation by Isabel Allende].
Material type: TextLanguage: English Original language: Spanish Publisher: New York : Ballantine Books, [2021]Copyright date: ©2021Edition: First editionDescription: 174 pages ; 20 cmContent type:- text
- unmediated
- volume
- General
- 9780593355626
- 0593355628
- 305.42 23
Item type | Current library | Collection | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Book | Bedford Public Library Non-Fiction | Non-Fiction | 305.42 ALL | Available | 32500001813378 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
From the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea comes "a bold exploration of womanhood, feminism, parenting, aging, love and more" (Associated Press).
" The Soul of a Woman is Isabel Allende's most liberating book yet."-- Elle
"When I say that I was a feminist in kindergarten, I am not exaggerating," begins Isabel Allende. As a child, she watched her mother, abandoned by her husband, provide for her three small children without "resources or voice." Isabel became a fierce and defiant little girl, determined to fight for the life her mother couldn't have.
As a young woman coming of age in the late 1960s, she rode the second wave of feminism. Among a tribe of like-minded female journalists, Allende for the first time felt comfortable in her own skin, as they wrote "with a knife between our teeth" about women's issues. She has seen what the movement has accomplished in the course of her lifetime. And over the course of three passionate marriages, she has learned how to grow as a woman while having a partner, when to step away, and the rewards of embracing one's sexuality.
So what feeds the soul of feminists--and all women--today? To be safe, to be valued, to live in peace, to have their own resources, to be connected, to have control over our bodies and lives, and above all, to be loved. On all these fronts, there is much work yet to be done, and this book, Allende hopes, will "light the torches of our daughters and granddaughters with mine. They will have to live for us, as we lived for our mothers, and carry on with the work still left to be finished."
"Originally published in Spanish in Spain as Mujeres del alma mia: Sobre el amor impaciente, la vida larga y las brujas buenas by Penguin Random House Grupo editorial, S.A., Barcelona in 2020"--Title page verso.
The author describes her lifelong commitment to feminism in a meditation on what it means to be a woman, discussing progress within the movement in her lifetime, what remains to be done, and how to move forward in the future.
Text in English, translated from the Spanish.
Excerpt provided by Syndetics
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Library Journal Review
Allende (The House of the Spirits) offers up an intimate memoir on the impact of feminism on her unique and fulfilling life. As a child, and later as a young woman in the 1960s, Allende realized that women were often seen and not heard. Her mother's circumstance, and that of many other women in Chile, inspire Allende's life of action; she is nothing if not passionate in all her undertakings. Three marriages, two children, one heartbreaking loss, and travels around the globe have brought her closer to the human condition and the hearts of women everywhere, women who want not just love, but safety, bodily autonomy, value, respect, and connectedness. This memoir is a quilt of stories, poetry, anecdotes, and truths that women carry, in every culture and continent. Passionately narrated by Gisela Chipe, the audio edition is filled with warmth, feeling, and emotion. It concludes with Allende's promise to "light the torch of our daughters and granddaughters with mine. They will have to live for us, as we lived for our mothers, and carry on with the work still left to be finished." VERDICT Beautiful and fulfilling; a must-listen for women everywhere.--Erin Cataldi, Johnson Cty. P.L., Franklin, INPublishers Weekly Review
Allende (A Long Petal of the Sea) presents a rich and intimate account of her lifelong commitment to feminism. For Allende, feminism is "a philosophical posture and a rising against male authority." She further clarifies that patriarchy is "stony," while feminism is fluid and "like the ocean, never stays quiet." The book's biographical details include Allende's youthful fight for equality in sports; her early years as a journalist in Chile in the 1960s and '70s; profiles of her beloved mother and chauvinist stepfather; and a tribute to legendary literary agent Carmen Balcells ("my mentor and my friend"), who helped Allende enter the male-dominated world of Latin American literature with the publication of her debut novel, The House of the Spirits, in 1982. Allende also memorializes her daughter, Paula, who died at age 29, and describes the foundation she started in Paula's honor to "invest in the power of vulnerable women and girls." Allende also discusses her three marriages and proudly takes on the mantle of "emboldened" grandmother: "We have nothing to lose and therefore are not easily scared." This spirited call for women to continue fighting for "a joyful world" will resonate with Allende's many fans. (Mar.)Booklist Review
From the vantage of her 70-plus years, Allende (A Long Petal of the Sea, 2020) uses the lens of feminism to reflect on her life. Feminist was a role she was destined to fulfill, in spite of the misogyny rampant in her native Chile. It was also a role she was cautioned against by her mother, stepfather, and beloved grandfather, yet the empirical logic behind becoming and being her own woman was one that she could not shake. Independence of spirit fueled Allende's ambition, the desire to witness as strong as that to write. Allende's transformative approach to feminism is visceral and, not surprisingly, lyrical. It is "like the ocean," she writes, moving "in waves, currents, tides, and sometimes in storms." In a narrative that is part memoir and part manifesto, Allende both rails against and embraces aging, making peace with the adjustments she's made and celebrating life's joys and accomplishments as measured against a life well lived. A crisp and buoyant unburdening, Allende's philosophical treatise on women's issues is unabashedly passionate and personal, as befits one of the world's most beloved authors and journalists.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Allende is a beacon, weaving feminism into her novels, and her first nonfiction book in years will garner media coverage and reader curiosity. Women in Focus: The 19th in 2020Kirkus Book Review
The popular Chilean novelist shares life's lessons. Approaching 80, Allende offers wise thoughts on aging, romance, sex, love, and, above all, her feminism--which began in kindergarten, when she saw her mother, abandoned with three small children, forced to become dependent on men. "I became obsessed with justice," writes the author, "and developed a visceral reaction to male chauvinism." Angry and often rebellious, Allende was "expelled from school--run by German Catholic nuns--at age 6, accused of insubordination; it was a prelude to my future." Thankfully, her doting grandfather, although "the unquestionable patriarch of the family," encouraged her abilities; "he understood the disadvantages of being a woman and wanted to give me the tools I needed so I would never have to depend on anyone." Married at 20 and soon a mother of two, Allende felt stifled until she joined the staff of Paula magazine, where writing provided an outlet for her restlessness. The author charts the evolution of her own "fluid, powerful, deep" feminism as it relates to her self-image. While she refuses "to submit to the Eurocentric feminine ideal--young, white, tall, thin, and fit," she does "jump out of bed an hour before everybody else to shower and put on makeup because when I wake up I look like a defeated boxer." Now happily married to her third husband, Allende claims that "love rejuvenates" and that after menopause, life gets easier, "but only if we minimize our expectations, give up resentment, and relax in the knowledge that no one, except those closest to us, gives a damn about who we are or what we do." Buoyed by the "spiritual practice circle" she dubs the "Sisters of Perpetual Disorder" and involved in a foundation dedicated to empowering vulnerable women and girls, Allende is ultimately joyful: "My theory and practice is to say yes to life and then I'll see how I manage along the way." A pithy, upbeat memoir by a self-described romantic feminist. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.Author notes provided by Syndetics
Isabel Allende was born in 1942 in Lima, Peru, the daughter of a Chilean diplomat. When her parents separated, young Isabel moved with her mother to Chile, where she spent the rest of her childhood. She married at the age of 19 and had two children, Paula and Nicolas. Her uncle was Salvador Allende, the president of Chile. When he was overthrown in the coup of 1973, she fled Chile, moving to Caracas, Venezuela.While living in Venezuela, Allende began writing her novels, many of them exploring the close family bonds between women. Her first novel, The House of the Spirits, has been translated into 27 languages, and was later made into a film. She then wrote Of Love and Shadows, Eva Luna, and The Stories of Eva Luna, all set in Latin America. The Infinite Plan was her first novel to take place in the United States. She explores the issues of human rights and the plight of immigrants and refugees in her novel, In The Midst of Winter. In Paula, Allende wrote her memoirs in connection with her daughter's illness and death. She delved into the erotic connections between food and love in Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses.
In addition to writing books, Allende has worked as a TV interviewer, magazine writer, school administrator, and a secretary at a U.N. office in Chile. She received the 1996 Harold Washington Literacy Award. She lives in California. Her title Maya's Notebook made The New York Times Best Seller List in 2013.
(Bowker Author Biography)