When I became single, I had to carve out some survival rules. I had been in a relationship since I was 18 (and now I was turning 30). I didn’t have my own bank account, I had no idea I could fall asleep alone, I was used to squeezing all my make-up on the shared sink – in other words, I had no idea on how to navigate the world without a partner. When I became single, all I had was: - a 3 year old toddler and a 12 month old baby - a badly paid career as a screenwriter and book

*this post concludes the stories contained in Love Intuition and Without Reason. Nevertheless, you don’t need to read the posts to get this story. We saw each other for one year, during which we would spend a lot of time with our girls. Happy, beautiful family. His daughter became very attached to me, although we never admitted on being an official couple. In other words, our girls thought we were just friends. He wanted to finalize the divorce before we could come out as an

During the winter break of 2008, I decided to spend my only savings by taking a memorable and cheap trip to Chile with one of my best friends, Vida, her two kids and my two girls. I pictured this trip on my mind to be a wine-sipping, girl-gossiping, kids-fun trip. I wanted to ski some, drive some, visit Santiago and Viña del Mar, and get inspired for my books, even maybe my personal life. I was hoping that being with a loving couple in their farmhouse would inspire me to get

I know we all like to say how cool our parents are – yes, there is a tacit competition in humankind to have the best folks. I really got a golden ticket, since the day I was born. I have the coolest parents I could ask for. My parents gave me love, a lot, but also the kind of guidance and friendship that allowed me to feel (and be) free while maintaining my feet on the ground. Prequel They met in 1969 at a Communist Party meeting. Ana Maria, a raised catholic, and Mauro, the

Last week I told you about how I fell in love with a guy I first saw in my dreams – go back and read post “Love Intuition”! This post is the continuation of that story. After bumping into Vincent every single day of the week, we met at our friend Julien’s goodbye party. As we sat there, I pretended that I could disguise the huge attraction I was feeling for that guy and enjoy my best friend’s company. No Prank At the end of the night, Vincent asked for a lift, as we were head

Julien, my male best friend in life, the closest thing to a brother I will ever have – came to visit Rio de Janeiro from Paris. Because of the nature of our relationship, a true fraternal intimacy, I ended up telling him tidbits of my romantic adventures, and how much after four years as a spinster I was ready to be in a relationship. Julien, who has always been in long and serious love stories (yes, he is the kind of guy you only dream of meeting) mentioned something very ra

Last week I told you how I met Romain, in an empty movie theater in the North of France, back in 1990. And how we kissed and made plans for a first real date. I spent the next day smiling, filled with hope and excitement that I would seethat stranger again. As any 16 year old, I spent the day at school and went home around 4pm. I took a nice bath, shaved my legs and applied my new French perfume – L'Insolant, a title that would soon fit me well. I was becoming a little bit cy

In 1998, after surviving a helicopter crash and going missing for two days in the middle of the Amazon forest, D., my then partner, was found. He was badly injured, but God decided to spare him, and I could only be grateful for it. After undergoing an emergency surgery for a massive internal bleeding in a nearby hospital, D. was transferred from the city of Roraima to Rio de Janeiro in an ambulance airplane. It was a six hours flight which, for someone in a critic state, is a

On a hot September Monday of 1998, I was climbing the high bridge that ties together the buildings of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), to apply for an MFA, when I experienced dizziness. The height, that never looked so scary to me, felt strangely uncomfortable. It was around 9 in the morning when I was trying to get to admissions for forms and information. A janitor helped me cross the rest of that long bridge to get to the other building. I spent some minutes r

Looking back, the craziest thing I have done for love was to never get married. Craziest, better, healthier. Don’t judge me yet – let me tell you my story. I know I am coming from a place of fear and precaution, but hey, what if not signing a piece of paper really makes things lighter and love lasts more because there is less pressure? Shakespeare once said that “a light heart lives long”, so why not? By not getting married, I got to have two very long-lasting relationships