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120 pages1 hour
Summary
Martha Medeiros is one of the most influential and admired writers in Brazil. Her genius resides in her ability to speak to readers individually, regardless of age, in language which is fresh and immediate, but also timeless and enduring. Her readership is in the millions throughout the country. Her articles address love, life and art in a simple yet insightful way. She is among the top one hundred most influential people in Brazil.
Martha is the author of one of the most circulated texts on the internet around the world, Die Slowly, published here officially for the first time.
Dies slowly those who do not travel, who do not read, who do not listen to music and those who do not laugh at themselves. [...]
We live with the inevitability of death, so let’s try and avoid death in small doses, always remembering that being alive requires a much greater effort than the act of breathing.
From the article Die Slowly.
Publisher: Austin MacauleyReleased: Sep 28, 2018ISBN: 0463427742Format: book
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Nonstop - Martha Medeiros
About the Author
Martha Medeiros (b.1961) has 26 novels to her name with more than 1,000,000 copies sold. She has a huge readership and is widely respected as novelist, poet and columnist throughout Brazil.
Martha’s genius resides in her ability to speak to readers individually, regardless of age, in language which is fresh and immediate, but also timeless and enduring. She has been considered among the hundred most influential people in Brazil according to Época Magazine and has won awards in both literature and journalism.
Martha lives in Porto Alegre, Brazil, with her two daughters.
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Dedication
To Nicole, the young girl behind the scenes.
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Published by Austin Macauley at Smashwords
Copyright 2018, Martha Medeiros
The right of Martha Medeiros to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All Rights Reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with the written permission of the publisher, or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
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A CIP catalogue record for this title is
Available from the British Library.
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www.austinmacauley.com
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Nonstop, 2018
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.
ISBN 9781788489058 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781788489065 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781788489072 (E-Book)
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First Published in 2018
Austin Macauley Publishers.LTD/
CGC-33-01, 25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf, London E14 5LQ
Acknowledgements
It was 3rd December 2016 when I came upon a new message in my inbox. It was signed by someone I didn’t know, a Brazilian woman who lived in England, her name was Shayla Bittencourt. She was asking for my address so that she could send me a book. I sent her my address – I’d never refuse a book – and didn’t think about it anymore. On 26th December, the bell rang and on the other side of the door, a beautiful package was delivered to me. As soon as I saw that it was from England, her email came to my mind: It must be the book! Is it modern literature or a classic? I wonder who the author is. Never had I thought it was me. Shayla had translated my articles. And what a translation!
That’s what I love about life – you never know what’s around the corner. Some years ago, my family and I had decided not to exchange presents at Christmas. We already had all we needed and we just wanted to enjoy each other’s company. Yet, there was always someone who would break the rules, but not in 2016. That was the first year that I didn’t get a Christmas present, not a single one. So on that Boxing Day, when I answered the door, I realised: Santa exists!
That’s how Shayla found her way into my living room – not through the chimney, but through my heart. My books had already been translated in to French, Italian and Spanish, but not English, the universal language.
I now have the opportunity to reach a much wider audience, but better than this, I have a new friend. With talent and generosity beyond measure, Shayla has become a huge part of my world. Such is life, with wonders at every turn – keep your eyes peeled.
Martha Medeiros
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Table of Contents
In an Embrace
The Film Club
Standing Kiss
We Think We Know
When Prejudice Masquerades God’s Purpose
Caught on Camera
The Elegance of the Intellect
Love Works in Mysterious Ways
Behind the Counter
Happy for No Reason
The Compact Era
Internet Trolls
When the Real Fun Begins
The Independent Woman
Is Your Home Happy?
It Will Come to Nothing
What Are You Thinking?
The God of Small Things
Inside the Airport
Women Under Pressure
Life Without Stabilisers
Snow of Polystyrene
Education for Divorce
Too Kind
Be There!
Taking the Wrong Turn
Chronic Dissatisfaction
The School of Life
When God Appears
What If?
Getting Past the Greetings
Everybody?
The Best Thing That Never Happened
Me
With or Without You
The Right to Disappear
Grow Up and Have Fun
Aristocats
How Well it Turned Out for Us
If Only
The Extraordinary Women of Our Lives
When We Truly Die
The Scheme of Life and Love
Your Highness, The Child
Are You Annoying?
Trust in God, But Lock Your Car
The New Minority
Cigarettes After Sex
The Media Don’t Act Alone
What Women Want
Surprise!
No Time Like the Present
Women in Black
It Takes One
Locked Out
Die Slowly
In an Embrace
Where would you like to be right now?
I keep thinking about the wonderful places I’ve been and which I’d like to return to: a restaurant on a Greek island, several beaches in Brazil and around the world, a good friend’s house, a small village somewhere in Europe, a beautiful country road, a fantastic concert, in a cinema watching the premiere of a long-awaited film, and especially in my bed which no five star hotel can match – you cannot replicate that homely feeling.
I could also list the places I’d rather not be: in a hospital bed, in a queue at the bank, stuck in a lift, stuck in traffic, at the dentist.
So, adding up the pros and cons, the good and the bad, where, after all is said and done, is the best place in the world?
My guess: in an embrace.
Is there a better place for a child, an old person, a woman in love, a disturbed teenager, a patient, or the lonely? In an embrace, it’s always warm and safe. In an embrace, we don’t hear the clock. Time stops, there’s no beginning, there’s no end. It’s where your thoughts and pains melt away.
Is there a better place for a newborn, for a visitor, for someone who’s been fired or hired? In an embrace all is clear, the future safe – we settle comfortably in paradise.
Your face against their chest, hearts beating as one, there’s nothing to ask or be thankful for. In an embrace, no words are necessary – all has already been said.
Where is the best place in the world? In front of a roaring fire reading a good book, among the crowd watching your team score, having a family lunch where everyone is having fun, lying in a field looking at the sky, in bed with the person you love the most?
It will be hard to beat that last one. But where does love begin if not in the first embrace? Some find it suffocating and want to disengage as quickly as possible. Sometimes we need to be out of reach, beyond arm’s length. This wish to retreat is fair, but today allow me to pass it by. As Valentine’s Day approaches, I suggest you book a spot in a warm place, in the embrace you long for.
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The Film Club
Until recently, the only David Gilmour I’d heard of was the singer and guitarist from Pink Floyd. That was until another David Gilmour, a Canadian writer, came along with his book The Film Club, where he recounts a true story which happened in his own home.
David has a son called Jesse who, at
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