Her father was a first cousin of Salvador Allende, president of Chile, with whom Isabel and her family maintained a close, long-standing relationship. Her parents divorced when she was two years old, and she and her mother moved in with her maternal grandparents, whose presence and personalities exerted a powerful influence over her imagination and development, leaving a deep imprint later expressed in her writing. Her grandmother in particular was a great storyteller.
Allende's mother eventually remarried, again to a diplomat, whose assignments took the family-mother, stepfather, and two brothers-abroad. Thus, as an adolescent she lived in such widely scattered places as Bolivia, the Middle East, and Europe. Allende returned to Chile when she was fifteen, finished high school, and began working as a secretary for the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. She found herself drawn to writing, however, and soon advanced into the field of journalism and communications, pursuing a variety of interests. During this period she wrote a column ("Impertinentes") for the radical women's magazine Paula, edited a leading magazine for children tided Mampato, and even hosted a weekly television program. At the same time she was trying her hand at producing plays and writing short stories for children.
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