Isabel Allende Quotes & Sayings (Page 4)

“I'm aware of the mystery around us, so I write about coincidences, premonitions, emotions, dreams, the power of nature, magic.”

“Feminism is dated? Yes, for privileged women like my daughter and all of us here today, but not for most of our sisters in the rest of the world who are still forced into premature marriage, prostitution, forced labor - they have children that they don't want or they cannot feed.”

“I was born in ancient times, at the end of the world, in a patriarchal Catholic and conservative family. No wonder that by age five I was a raging feminist - although the term had not reached Chile yet, so nobody knew what the heck was wrong with me.”

“A memoir is an invitation into another person's privacy.”

“Heart is what drives us and determines our fate.”

“I write to understand my circumstances, to sort out the confusion of reality, to exorcise my demons. But most of all, I write because I love it!”

“Nice people with common sense do not make interesting characters. They only make good former spouses.”

“The pain of losing my child was a cleansing experience. I had to throw overboard all excess baggage and keep only what is essential.”

“Kids are smart: don't underestimate their bull detector. Contemporary kids have access to a lot of information, so don't even try to fool them. I have never been more nervous about my research than when writing for young adults because they pick up every single error.”

“I never try to convey a message, I just want to tell a story. Why that story in particular? I have no idea, but I have learned to surrender to the muse. I become obsessed with a theme or with certain stories; they haunt me for years, and finally, I write them.”