My First Book Presentation - Porto, Portugal

My first book presentation felt like a dream. In fact, it was a dream coming true. And there’s a lot to tell about that participation in the Porto Book Fair. But maybe that deserves a new book on its own.

While I left that place in tears, my friends supported me in organizing a new event—with a photographer and everyone I knew in that city, where I had been for less than… six months.

That’s the magic of the book: bringing everything I needed at the right time.

It was because of the book that I went to Porto. It was because of the book that I walked through the streets looking for bookstores and ended up finding a job. And also because of the book that I started telling the story to someone who used to go to the bar where I worked.

I didn’t have a place to live at that time. Then someone came to talk to me. And just by hearing about the book, she said…

“Do you want to live with me?”

That’s how I found a home. Someone let me live with her, without paying rent, for more than a year.

She became one of the main supporters and was present at every single one of my book presentations in Portugal. I think I should mention my friend Laysa. She was someone who stood by me and helped to make it all happen.

It’s because of that support again—from people who hold me up—that I can go further. Because this story is beyond me. And yeah, it’s important to accept that sometimes we need care. And then, after that, we can take care of others.

Just like I dreamed it, just like I planned, there I was with my red dress. Of course, it had to have a slit up the leg, right? Because that’s how the author is—bold. And I looked beautiful, haha.

I want to have that kind of space and joy and lightness. That lightness in life that allows me to simply worry about superficial things—like what dress I’m going to wear.

There I was, presenting my first book, in another country, at 23 years old, in my gorgeous red dress.