On the occasion of the release of her newest novel, The Sum of Our Days, Chilean writer Isabel Allende gave a conference in Dublin about her life and work of literature.  A small group of Alpha students joined the conference.

Isabel, from Spain, writes about this experience: 

Isabel

"The meeting was fabulous, Isabel Allende, awesome, knew how to make us laugh with her unmistakable humour, and she touched us.
She talked about her writing, and how she creates her characters.
She creates them inside her, she gives them a shape and when she begins to write about them they come alive and it is as if they themselves were writing their own story.
Most of the characters are inspired by her loved ones, because she writes about life, and she has a lot to say about her life.
She touched us by talking about her daughter with great integrity, but with a sadness that only she knows.  The writing helps her to channel this sorrow.
She is a woman with big strength and with passion that is reflected both in her life and in her writing. And her message is clear, we have not only to live, but to dare to live, to love, to enjoy our lives, even if this may signify having to suffer."

"La conferencia fue todo un éxito, Isabel Allende espléndida, supo hacernos reír con su humor inconfundible y nos emocionó con sus palabras. Habló sobre su escritura, sobre cómo va creando sus personajes. Los va creando poco a poco, y poco a poco les va dando forma en su interior y cuando empieza a escribir sobre ellos es cómo si cobraran vida y escribieran ellos su propis historia. Muchos de esos personajes están inspirados en sus seres queridos, porque ella escribe sobre la vida, y ella de su vida tiene mucho que decir.
Nos emocionó hablando de su hija Paula, de la que hablaba con una gran entereza, pero con una tristeza que sólo ella conoce. La escritura le ha ayudado a canalizar esa tristeza.
Es una mujer con mucha fuerza, con una gran pasión que se refleja tanto en su vida como en su escritura. Y su mensaje es muy claro, no sólo hay que vivir, hay que atreverse a vivir, a amar a disfrutar de la vida, aunque ello conlleve también sufrir."

Isabel de la Campa Enciso