Quotes from Isabel Allende

And I've gained spirituality. I'm aware that before, death was is the neighborhood. Now, it's next door, or in my house. I try to live mindfully and be present in the moment.

The coup gave them a chance to put into practice what they had learned in their barracks: blind obedience, the use of arms, and other skills that soldiers can master once they silence the scruples of their hearts.

The strong aroma of meat, fried onion, cumin, and baked dough soaked into my skin so deeply that I have never lost it. I will die smelling like an empanada.

que aceptara a los niños como se aceptan los árboles, con gratitud, porque son una bendición, pero sin expectativas o deseos; no se espera que los árboles sean diferentes, se los ama tal cual son.

I thought liberation had to do with going out into the world and assuming male duties, not with delegating part of my load. The result was a terrible fatigue, as witnessed today by the millions of women of my generation who question feminist movements.

I have not succeeded in completely shaking free of religion, and when I'm faced with any difficulty, the first thing that occurs to me is to pray, just in case, which is what all Chileans do, even atheists . . . forgive me, agnostics.

Pero ya ves cómo la vida no nos deja en paz; tarde o temprano nos da alcance.

He had an image of her in his mind, the same image that appeared to him whenever he was racked by feelings of love.

life always asserts itself, but does so more fully if we accept it without resisting.

In my case, it's not so much wanting to live in Chile as it is the desire to recapture the certainty I feel there. That's my home ground.

En esos momentos recordaba la muletilla del tío Ramón: acuérdate de que los otros tienen más miedo que tú, y volvía a la carga.

nothing surprises me, I can anticipate others' reactions, I understand what gestures mean, silences, formulas of courtesy, ambiguous responses. Only there do I feel comfortable socially—despite the fact I rarely behave as I'm expected to—because there I know how to behave and my good manners rarely fail me.

no debes seguir anclada al pasado y asustada por el futuro. Tienes una sola vida, pero si la vives bien, es suficiente. Lo único real es ahora, este día. ¿Qué esperas para empezar a ser feliz? Cada día cuenta.

Son implacables, predican amor, justicia y caridad, y para imponerlas cometen atrocidades.

Eso de andar enfurruñado no sirve para nada. El dolor es inevitable, pero el sufrimiento es optativo

la guerra es la obra de arte de los militares, la culminacion de sus entrenamientos, el broche dorado de su profesion. No estan hechos para brillar en la paz. El Golpe les dio la oportunidad de poner en practica lo que habfan aprendido en los cuarteles, la obediencia ciega, el manejo de las armas y otras artes que los soldados pueden dominar cuando acallan los escrupulos del corazon

In Chile it is bad manners to acknowledge that you're overly satisfied, because that can irritate the less fortunate, which is why for us the correct answer to the question "How are you?" is "So-so." That is an opening for sympathizing with the other speaker's situation.

Estaba harta de contemplar desde abajo los vellos de la nariz del resto de la humanidad.

adormidera, como me aconsejaban las monjas del hospital

Sociologists say that forty percent of Chileans suffer from depression, especially women, who have to put up with the men. You must remember, too, that our country goes through major disasters, and that there are many poor, so it seems rude to mention one's own good fortune.

Qué enciende la pasión? La propia fantasía, supongo. ¿Qué la apaga? La rutina, si uno se descuida, y la pobreza.

My grandmother claimed that space is filled with presences, the dead and the living all mixed together.

Parece que todos los hombres de su familia han sido de buen corazón, Alma. Hay poca gente así en este mundo. - Hay mucha gente buena, Irina, pero es discreta. Los malos, en cambio, hacen mucho ruido, por eso se notan más.

The reality is that everyone is responsible for their own life. We're dealt certain cards at birth, and we play our hand; some of us lose, but others may play skillfully from the same bad hand and triumph.