Isabel Allende, born in Peru and raised in Chile, is a novelist, feminist, and philanthropist. She is one of the most widely read authors in the world, having sold more than eighty million copies of her books across forty-two languages. She is the author of many bestselling and critically acclaimed books, including The Wind Knows My Name, Violeta, A Long Petal of the Sea, The House of the Spirits, Of Love and Shadows, Eva Luna, and Paula. In addition to her work as a writer, Allende devotes much of her time to human rights causes. She has received fifteen honorary doctorates, has been inducted into the California Hall of Fame, and received the PEN Center USA's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2014, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, and in 2018, she received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation. Allende lives in California with her husband and dogs.