S1E16 - Isabel Allende - Finding Purpose and Gratitude
Our conversation with celebrated author Isabel Allende in October of 2022 captured what we admire most about how Isabel walks in the world. At eighty years old, Isabel is vibrant and alive, living with purpose and impact. Through the zigs and zags of our conversation, it became clear that she found in her writing a path to self knowledge. From that self knowledge, she cultivated a deep gratitude that serves as the source of her happiness. If you love her work, our conversation provides context and background. If you are not familiar with her work, you’ll witness a person of conviction who spent her life peeling back the layers of herself to identify what matters most. Her example is provocative and inspirational. Join us for a conversation through literature, politics, philanthropy, feminism, ritual, marriage, grief, discovery, and story.
Isabel Allende—novelist, feminist, and philanthropist—is one of the most widely-read authors in the world, having sold more than 75 million books. Chilean born in Peru, Isabel won worldwide acclaim in 1982 with the publication of her first novel, The House of the Spirits, which began as a letter to her dying grandfather. Since then, she has authored more than twenty five bestselling and critically acclaimed books, including Daughter of Fortune, Island Beneath the Sea, Paula, The Japanese Lover, A Long Petal of the Sea and her most recent work, Violeta. Translated into more than forty two languages, Allende’s works entertain and educate readers by interweaving imaginative stories with significant historical events.
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, she established a charitable foundation in her honor, which has awarded grants to more than 100 nonprofits worldwide, delivering life-changing care to hundreds of thousands of women and girls. More than 8 million have watched her TED Talks on leading a passionate life.
She has received fifteen honorary doctorates, including one from Harvard University, was inducted into the California Hall of Fame, received the PEN Center Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Anisfield-Wolf Lifetime Achievement Award. 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 lives in California. Her website is IsabelAllende.com.
Conversation recorded on October 14, 2022.