Isabel Allende interview! On writing, refugees, love, marriage, belonging and being bicultural 🌸

I had the amazing opportunity to interview Isabel Allende, one of my literary heroes, about her new book A Long Petal of the Sea (out now) and more. The conversation took place in front of an audience in February 2020. Thank you to my friends at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and Isabel's publisher Bloomsbury for making this happen!
UNHCR: www.unhcr.org/uk/
A Long Petal of the Sea from your local indie: www.hive.co.uk/Product/Isabel...
We read The House of the Spirits in our book club, Life’s Library, last year. Join the community! www.lifeslibrarybookclub.com/
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twitter: / rosiannarojas
instagram: / rosiannahalserojas

[@vlogbrothers]

Great interview! -John

[@rosianna]

Thanks, my friend! Isabel signed my Life’s Library copy of The House of the Spirits - what a joy it was to talk about that book with everyone in our book club last year.

[@Exoamylase]

Her name is Isabel Allende. Not John. SMH.

[@hopegold883]

Heard you sitting in for Hank on Dear Hank and John and enjoyed it so much I had to google you. Then I see a video of interviewing my favorite author - well, my favorite person. What a wonderful interview it was! I’m so tired of interviewers who make it all about them, even interrupting the subject.( I’ve also heard how Ms. Allende handles those, and she does not suffer fools. ) But this was just perfect. Every answer was a journey. Thank you! Made my day!

[@myidiosyncrasy]

This is incredible! I don't think I've ever watched an Isabel Allende interview before and I feel like I had no idea that she was so funny and charming. What a lovely, thoughtful, personable conversation this is.

[@najah7781]

wow Rosianna, how amazing! Such a great interview, you two seem to really connect and you look ridiculously beautiful too! The house of the spirits remains one of my favourite books.

[@rosianna]

Ahh thank you so much! Isabel was an absolute delight to talk to and really put me at ease right away. & House of the Spirits forever 💖

[@bettyreads222]

"We don't know how strong we are until we are tested." That made me emotional, so true. So proud of you, Rosianna, this is a great conversation.

[@auberginegurl]

Isabel Allende is a Chilean that makes us so proud. Viva Chile!!!!

[@paperipixels8541]

“Everything is global: drugs, guns, money... except people.”, such a great interview!

[@JJC1138]

I'm only half way through the interview but Isabel seems like a wonderful storyteller already. This makes me want to read all the things!

[@daphnereads]

Had to stop three seconds in because I started bawling. What a moment. It's just so nice to see someone who you've followed for years grow and achieve their dreams. Okay, deep breath and back to watching you brilliant women talk.

[@nishapan1376]

I love her perspective on stories as a way to connect and humanize people.

[@aSammyGee]

It took me way too long to figure out how to login on my phone to comment on this and now I feel like I’ve aged 10 years. YOU’RE SO GOOD AT INTERVIEWS I LOVE THIS. So prepared! So professional! So stylish!

[@mariacahuao758]

Great interview. You look so beautiful and that woman is incredible, I've read a couple of her books and love them. Congrats ♡

[@keks257]

What a lovely interview. I was given a book by Isabel Allende ages ago, I think I'll finally have to read it!

[@lauravazquez2212]

I wrote my thesis project about returnees residing in the north of Mexico. What Isabel said about stories, that they’re important to communicate what other people go through and that most of the times we only get to know statistics is something that my professor always used to say and it is very important for everyone to understand. I’m really excited to read this book and btw I cried when she was talking about the heart motif.

[@lifeofpandora8056]

What a wonderful and important conversation :)

[@moiradarling97]

I’ve never read her work or heard of her (other than from your posts online) but I feel in love with her in this interview and will be buying one of her books as soon as I’m in a shop. Great interview Rosianna!

[@moiradarling97]

Also her coat, or whatever you’d call it, is beautiful!

[@frannypiano]

Ahh how awesome! Rosianna smashing it as always

[@rosianna]

Thank you! I can’t believe this is my life.

[@AuburnAfterglow]

Great interview!!! When she talks that the role of the writer is to bring empathy it made me think of Olga Tokarczuk's Nobel prize speech which was very much about that :)

[@harrymadray6362]

Isabel Allende, you are a Marvelous human being who sincerely ❤️ loves and cares for people!! I truly love reading your books which makes me feel that I am literally part of the story! An amazing experience that I don't recall experiencing before! Thank you for being so outspoken about Criminal Trump who should be charged for the deaths of many Refugees who died while in prison and for the separation of babies from their Mothers! Where is the American conscience? Seems they have lost it!! Sadly. Blessings always 🙏 on you and your beloved family.

[@ireneg4515]

What an amazing woman! And what an amazing interview!

[@jumpincows]

Amazing interview! It really felt like a conversation and I appreciate how thoughtful your questions were. This convinced me to put a library hold on A Long Petal of the Sea.

[@ileanaaaaa]

This was a wonderful interview! 🙏🖤 as a Mexican living in Canada I appreciate and relate a lot... I can’t wait to read the book 🙌

[@MarianaLovesBooks]

What an amazing interview! Isabel Allende is my favourite authors - I read so many of her books growing up, she's the reason I fell in love with reading. It was wonderful to hear your conversation! :D

[@bookishshenanigans4769]

Such a wonderful interview between two incredibly eloquent women, I feel blessed by this video.

[@ErinTexas]

Can you do this always!!! Wow I’m here for this. You’re really good at giving interviews.

[@AmeliaBell28]

What a beautiful conversation between two extraordinary women

[@ginny4e]

I have never read any of her books, now I want to devour them all!

[@helloelin]

Beautiful interview!

[@lafaire06]

So happy for you that you had this time to talk to Isabel Allende! Great interview, very thoughtful questions, I'm very excited to read her newest book. I especially liked the part where she talks about being bicultural and the struggle of belonging for migrants and refugees

[@MacarenaNow]

Such a wonderful interview. Isabel is my favourite author. I've seen a lot of Isabel's interviews and this is definitely my favourite. Thank you! Greetings from Chile :)

[@valkyrie_cain86]

Excellent interview. I was just looking for a new book to start, and now I have to start on this book. It was so cool seeing how excited Rosianna is while interviewing.

[@emmakates]

this was so so so lovely. thank you for asking such insightful questions!

[@fennebastiaansen4844]

What an amazing interview Rosianna! I read House of the Spirits for Life's Library last year and absolutely loved it. Can't wait to pick up A Long Petal of the Sea now

[@melisacastellanos2143]

La honestidad de Isabel Allende me confirma que muchas Sudamericanas se casan por conveniencia económica!! Algunas aprovechan esta oportunidad para después hacer el bien como Isabel y otras se quedan en el egocentrismo y materialismo!! Propondré este libro en mi club de lectura! Suena interesante y apropiado para la época que vivimos en la frontera USA/México Gracias por compartir esta entrevista!

[@Ironballs69]

A new Rosianna video, time to drop everything and watch straight away! Thank you for this interview, it is really great. I think it is really important to open our eyes to the lives of people living in and escaping from conflict in a way we haven't experienced. There have been some really good films on the subject in the last few years so it is great to see the subject hitting the mainstream more and more.

[@rosianna]

Thanks! I’m also glad to see more and more films and books and other works of art about conflict and refuge, and the challenges that remain. Let me know about any you’ve loved lately! Your recommendations are always fantastic.

[@Ironballs69]

@@rosianna Let me go digging in my letterboxd history and see what I can find. Mediterranea (2015) directed by Jonas Carpiagnano is a really interesting film about an African man making his way from Burkina Faso to Italy. It covers the journey to Italy and the protagonists attempts to make a living in Italy. There is a sequel called The Ciambra (2017) from the point of view of a Romani Italian boy who is a minor character in the first film and the protagonist from the first film features a lot in the second film. Girls of the Sun (2018) directed by Eva Husson follows a French reporter embedded with a unit of Kurdish women fighting against ISIS. As you might expect a lot of the subject matter is pretty hard watching here. More (2017) directed by Onor Sayak is told from the point of view of a 14 year old Turkish boy who helps his father make money from smuggling refugees into Europe. Insyriated (2017) directed by Phillippe Van Leuuw tells the story of a group of people trapped inside a flat in Syria as the civil war rages around them. Another really dark film but totally puts you in the suffering of the every day people trapped in conflict. The Forgotten Kingdom (2013) directed by Andrew Mudge is about a young man from Lesotho who has been living in South Africa and returns home to Lesotho. This film fits less than the others here but I want to recommend it anyway because it is amazing and everyone should see it. It is such a great exploration of Africa present, past and the potential future from the eyes of an immigrant returning home. That is a few. I would also really recommend the comic DMZ by Brian Wood, it is 72 issues and ran from 2005-2012. It does such an amazing job of opening the readers eyes to what life is like for those trapped in a war zone. The plot revolves around a fictional version of New York City that is the centre of a civil war, it sets the war on terror in a western location to bring home what we only see distantly on the news.

[@minnspark]

Rosianna, your interview was excellent! And thank you for sharing it here.

[@rosianna]

Thank you, Mary!!!

[@tamiressecco626]

Amazing interview, congrats!! She is so inspiring!! ❤️❤️❤️

[@gwenadams4509]

Love this lady's books💛❤💚

[@luke28]

Oh, Rosianne. This absolutely wonderful! Hablan de temas muy interesantes y importantes... Ahorita, tengo mucha curiosidad de leer esta novela :) Thank you, for your hard work for this great cause as well

[@tanigb]

Love this interview! Can this book be in the next life’s library???

[@babysab8013]

God I love Isabel, I read most of her books. Great woman and a life well lived. For those who don’t know, she lost a daughter aged 28, Paula. I admire her zest for life

[@IQzminus2]

Wow this is such a great interview!

[@knittingwhilewalking]

This was wonderful! Looking forward to reading this even more!

[@rosianna]

Thank you and hurray glad to hear it! I looooved it. The entire time I was editing this video I was desperate to reread.

[@Cristina-oc9uu]

A wonderful interview! ❤️💕

[@soundslikeknee]

Great and insightful interview

[@nyshatee]

i love isabel allende!! eva luna is my fave book from her

[@rosianna]

I love Eva Luna! I remember it fondly because it was the only book they had in Spanish in my school library.

[@angelag6572]

Such a great video !

[@journalsbysophie]

My dream interview! I love her so much ❤️ did you get to hug her? She's one of the people that I want to hug, if she'll allow it of course. Lovely video Rossiana I could never be so calm next to her ♥️

[@rosianna]

I was so nervous before but she put me at ease immediately. She’d do the same for you I’m sure :)

[@journalsbysophie]

@@rosianna she is tied to so many memories my mom loved her so much and she passed on the love for her books to me. I'm a little closer to mom when I read her. Plus her being bilingual like we are is so rare too ♥️ I am so happy that she made you feel at ease she looks like a person who would do that. 😍

[@charlotteboys3337]

What an amazing interview! 💕 When you read Allende's books, do you read them in Spanish or English or both?

[@luciaecheverria7837]

Esto es genial