In this memoir, Isabel Allende reconstructs the painful reality of her own life in the wake of tragic loss--the death of her daughter, Paula. Recalling the past thirteen years from the daily letters the author and her mother, who lives in Chile, wrote to each other, Allende ... recounts the stories of the wildly eccentric, strong-minded, and eclectic tribe she gathers around her that becomes a new kind of family. Throughout, Allende shares her thoughts...

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.

Isabel Allende reflects on her relationship with her close-knit family, recounting memorable interactions between them and discussing how they helped her survive after her daughter's death.