A portrait of a contemporary family, tied together by the love and stubborn determination of a beloved matriarch

'No amount of acrobatics can out do the absolute core of Allende's talent: her gift for writing' THE TIMES

In December 1982, Isabel Allende's daughter Paula tragically passed away. In this heartfelt memoir, Allende reflects on how, with the help of her family and close friends in California, she rebuilt her life in the wake of unimaginable grief.

Allende bares her soul while sharing her thoughts on love, motherhood, spirituality, addiction and memory. She recounts stories of the wildly eccentric and eclectic tribe she became a part of, and how she lovingly embraced them as a new kind of family.

Told with warmth, exceptional candour and wisdom, The Sum of Our Days is as exuberant and full of life as its creator.

"The reader is swept along by the energy of her prose, her brilliance as a story-teller, and the sheer force and warmth of personality" - Independent

"If she wrote Paula as a redemptive exercise in grieving, The Sum of Our Days is written in the spirit of thanksgiving" - Sunday Telegraph