My Invented Country: A Memoir -- Isabel Allende

<p><strong>"A stunningly intimate memoir. . . . Allende is that rare writer whose understanding of story matches her mastery of language."--<em>Entertainment Weekly</em></strong><br/></p><p><strong>The revered <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author of <em>House of the Spirits </em>and <em>A Long Petal of the Sea</em> ponders the elements that led to her becoming a writer, including the homeland she lost and the one she found, and the family spirits, both living and dead, who haunt her life and work.</strong></p><p>In this wondrous and intimate book, Isabel Allende explores the role of memory and nostalgia in shaping her life, her books, and that most intimate connection to her place of origin. <em>My Invented Country </em>brings her homeland of Chile to life in her unique voice, evoking the magnificent landscapes of her land, the almost mythic people of her family; the tragedy and hope of her people; and the politics, religion, and magic that infuse them all.</p><p><em>My Invented Country</em> orbits two life-changing moments: the 1973 assassination of her uncle Salvador Allende Gossens which sent her into exile and inspired her literary career; and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on her adopted homeland, the United States. Ping-ponging across distance and time, between past and present lives, it is a monumental tribute to history and the immigrant experience and a wise and personal consideration of what it means to pursue a reflective life in a cacophonous,