Goodreads asked Isabelle Gecils:

How do you get inspired to write?

Isabelle Gecils When you have a story within you that is bursting to be told, that is the inspiration. I just felt so strongly it was a calling of sorts to write Leaving Shangrila. But what has originally prompted me to write Leaving Shangrila was realizing that my children would never really know who I was without it. In the process of overcoming to much adversity, I have been able to build a life I am proud of. Looking at my life now, one would not have expected the hardships I endured growing up in Brazil, in a restrictive household, with so much dysfunction. I want to help others realize that we don't choose our families or the circumstances of where we are born/grow up. But that we can make choices to make a life of our choosing, over time.

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