I’m Still Processing This…

Some moments in a writer's life feel almost surreal — like something you once dreamed about quietly and never quite dared to say out loud. This is one of those moments for me.

My book, Maternity Abroad: Becoming a Mother in a Foreign Land, was recently mentioned by not one but two Brazilian writers. As someone who comes from Brazil, that alone meant more than I can express. There is something deeply meaningful about being seen by voices from the place that shaped you.

Then something even more unexpected happened. During a live broadcast for Coragem Magazine, journalist and Head of Publication Maria Evana Kens referred to me and my work as:

"[…] uma pessoa super inteligente … [o livro] é um best-seller em muitos países."

"A very smart person … [the book] is a bestseller in many countries."

— MARIA EVANA KENS, CORAGEM MAGAZINE

To write about motherhood abroad — about building a life far from where you were born — and then to have that work recognized in your home country, is something I will never take for granted.

Writing can be a lonely process. So much of it happens quietly, between doubt and hope, in moments when you wonder whether your words will ever truly connect. And then one day they travel across oceans, across borders, and somehow find their way back home.

To the Brazilian literary community, thank you. To the readers who have carried this story into new spaces, thank you. And to Maria, for your generosity and recognition, thank you.

This moment humbles me deeply. Stories travel farther than we ever can. And sometimes they return to where everything began.

You can watch the live mention on my Instagram by clicking here.

With a full heart,

Jessica Gabrielzyk