MOTHER'S DAY ACTIVATION

I always say I write the way you kiss: with intention. For O Boticário's Mother's Day 2024, I was invited to take part in an activation where I could put that purpose into practice.

The wonderful visual artist Lila Fisbein and I created one-of-a-kind cards for customers at the Pátio Batel flagship store to give their mothers and mother figures. Lila painted watercolours on the spot while I wrote personalised messages, after talking to each person willing to take a moment to tell me about that relationship.

Over the five days, I saw such a range of emotions in dozens of people's eyes that every card made me want to go deeper. To explore the very heart of complete strangers who, for some reason that might explain what makes us human, shared such intimate things with me. To write something that, when read, brought tears that smudged under-eye concealer and turned noses red, or, with some of the more reserved men, ‘put something in their eye’. Hehe.

I helped children, older people, young adults, women and men from completely different worlds understand what they felt for their mums. Some talked A LOT. Some said very little, almost nothing. Some didn't know where to start. Others knew what they wanted to say and just needed help finding the words.

What did they have in common? When they read their cards, everyone had that ‘that's it!’ look. They thanked me. Hugged me. Held my hand tightly.

Those five days left me wanting so much more. I hope my words made many mothers and mother figures feel a music festival inside their chests that Sunday. Writing with intention sets something in motion. May it always be that way.

Hannover, a company specialising in obtaining German citizenship and passports, celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2024. Over a decade, thousands of families arrived as Brazilians and left the process with another nationality. What may sound bureaucratic actually holds a surprising well of emotion.

Far beyond the convenience of an EU passport and shorter immigration queues, most of Hannover's clients had meaningful, honourable reasons for seeking their documents. To celebrate the firm's ten-year history, I was invited to write a book about those stories.

Over a little more than a year, I interviewed more than 25 families who obtained dual citizenship through Hannover. I spoke to people who discovered their ancestors' true stories during the process, others who reunited after years apart, and people seeking justice by honouring relatives silenced during Germany's darkest times. I met people whose red passports helped them fulfil dreams, others who built entire academic careers because of them, and many who became emotional recalling the journeys of their immigrant grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents.

I learned more than I'd imagined about Apfelstrudel, the candles and tableware on a traditional German Christmas table, and the country's education system. I laughed, cried and felt confused. I studied a lot. And when I thought I'd understood, I studied some more.

Then I wrote each family's story. They're all brought together in ‘Danke!’, which means ‘Thank you!’. In the end, though, I'm the one who's grateful.

In 2023, I was one of the authors selected by Editora Patuá for a traditional publishing deal. ‘Beijo na Boca e Tarja Preta’, a collection of 19 short stories, marked my literary debut.

The book officially launched at the Paraty International Literary Festival, FLIP 2023, one of Latin America's largest literary festivals.