Welcome to another Tuesday with TED. This week we’re watching author and activist Isabel Allende who discusses women, creativity — and, of course, passion — in this charming and moving talk.

A novelist and memoirist, Allende writes of passionate lives, including her own. Born into a Chilean family with political ties, she went into exile in the United States in the 1970s — an event that, she believes, created her as a writer. Her books tell the stories of women and men who live with passionate commitment — to love, to their world, to an ideal.

Her novels include The House of the Spirits, Eva Luna, Ines of My Soul, and La Suma de los Dias (The Sum of Our Days). She’s written an adventure trilogy for young readers: City of the Beasts, Kingdom of the Golden Dragon, and Forest of the Pygmies. As a memoirist, she has written about Chile in My Invented Country and movingly tells the story of her life in Paula. Her book Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses linked two sections of the bookstore that probably don’t see much crossover: erotica and cookbooks.

Just as vital is her community work: The Isabel Allende Foundation  works with nonprofits in the San Francisco Bay Area and Chile to empower and protect women and girls — understanding that empowering women is the only true route to social and economic justice. Is there anything this woman can’t do?

This is an amazing and surprisingly funny talk. Prepare to be inspired!

I don’t know about you, but this TEDTalk seemed like a great way to ring in the New Year. What passionate ideal will you embrace in 2014? Share it here.

Until next time,
Cynthia Patton