In December 1991, Allende's daughter, Paula, at the age of 26, suffered a serious illness and fell into a coma. This book began as a letter to Paula, written during the hours spent by her side and evolved into a personal narrative and a testimony to the bonds that unite families – a courageous, enlightening, and inspiring true story.

The book was written during the endless hours that the author Isabel Allende spent in the corridors of a hospital in Madrid, in her hotel room, and by her daughter Paula's bedside during the summer and autumn of 1992. Faced with the possible loss of her child, Isabel Allende turned to storytelling to keep her spirit high and to convey to her daughter the will to wake up, to survive. The story she tells is that of her own life, her family history, and the tragedy of her nation, Chile, in the years leading up to the violent military coup of Pinochet.

Pages: 384, Dimensions: 12.9x12.9cm