You said reporters, but even included the women.
MED: I was interview many women journalists, but they address with this chapter too little, incomparably with the others, particularly the professional life, I realize that it arouses great interest my retirement, the sandwich generation, because of the material difficulties families face and lead so many people to psychiatrists. I talked to several doctors, there are even some references in the book of those conversations, whose pratices are currently full of people of my age completely crushed between the weight of caring for the older and having to take care of the younger ones, in great distress, because people at this age thought they were going to have a makeover, with a quiet old age if you we can call it that and they do not know what to do because they have to support their parents and their children that sometimes even bring their own family.
The various chapters are quite disparate, it was hard to get to this selection?
MED: For me are the various topics that make up the life of a woman, it was a breeze, was just thinking about my life. My first chapter is one of my main concerns, the sandwich generation. My previous book was about my mother's death and cancer, reporting to my role of caretaker.
That is a role still predominantly feminine?
MED: The taking care of is still feminine, is the father, mother, or aunt.
Which remain me of Paulo Portas speech about Portuguese women caregivers of the entire family, there still all this macho image, which is painfull is that is still very present.
MED: What I find is that it is an image that reduces the scope of women, because they are all that, but do everything else away, that's what shocked people because it is an old view of the women had to stay at home to look after the family. Paulo Portas is a very intelligent man, I believe it was not what he meant, but said it and nothing in politics goes blank.
You said that took care of her mother having a very intense career, however, this profile is very similar to many Portuguese women, is a reality.
MED: Yes, in my case I had a little more luck, because my father died quickly, within three days, but my mother remained extraordinarily healthy up to 85 years of age and as I was already well advanced in my professional path, it was not something that affects me up in the middle, however, that more intense phase, 40 and 50, I could count on her great support regarding my son. So for me it was absolutely clear that when it came to my mother's turn of needing me, being seriously ill, there where no doubts about taking care of her and she at least die if not in her home, at least in mine, with her family, without ever going to the hospital, except in a very short period of emergency. What eventually happened was that she died peacefully at her home surrounded by her family, I think it's the dream of every person and fortunately I was able to satisfy it. Now, I know it is very difficult for women facing situations like that early in their careers and at an age when they cannot leave the job without a large penalties. I was already at that stage where it was possible, was 61 and 40 years of contributions to social security, but for other people it happens earlier and are terrible dilemmas, I do not judge anyone, do not criticize those who cannot do this , blame, those who can do it but won't, and there are many, for selfishness, for the nuisance which is a lot of work and it's not that they cannot financially.
Confessions of a mature woman is a reading for mature women, but can also be read by young people who are not are yet at this stage?
MED: I'll give you an example, I will cause a surprise, I have been to many book fairs and a few weeks ago was in Sesimbra. In the end of the autograph line, a mother and what looked like a teenager, who after all was 17 come towards me, I turned tothe mother convinced that it was she who had bought the book and she said no, the autograph was for the daughter who bought it, read the book cover to cover and now we exchanged emails, you know what she liked the most? The fashion section, she is a fashion designer student and told me that was one of the best things made in Portugal on fashion. Life is amazing. And I have found many women of 30 and 40 years of age who read the book and also in this book fair show up many men.
And what did the men say?
MED: That bought it because they wanted to learn more about women.
Continue without understanding women?
MED: Apparently and we also do not understand them very well either, finally! (laughs)
Why this book now at this point of your life?
MED: Because while working more regularly on television simply did not have time to write books, I could only write articles was a collaborator in several newspapers and publications, was the maximum I could do aside from my work on television. The books take longer, have a treat in more depth, I felt for the first this great need during the illness of my mother, I was very influenced and challenged by a doctor, so it was written in co-authorship on fibromyalgia, although it was a much my problem, I can say the initiative was not mine. The book about carers arises because I was confronted with a serious lack of literature on this, its enormous solitude, all the difficulties faced by a caregiver of all kinds, whether the practical, financial terms until the end the existence of the people who gave us life, for me it was very distressing. And once you have stopped working full time, having to confront me with the retirement age, which will only truly happen now because only now I reached the age came to this awareness of my generation who were caught between the care of the old and having to respond to the young, because they have lost work or home and sometimes return with another household and we have under one roof three generations or more, these were my first thoughts and found it interesting to talk about it. Then I thought I could supplement these with other chapters that interest women, from love life, but as others of a more practical nature that do not cease to be treated as seriously as are the others.
You also said that always addressed these issues from the journalistic point of view and not of the author.
MED: For now I consider myself just a journalist who also commonly write books, iF I turned to be something else or not, I do not know. I will always be a journalist because that's why I studied and completed my training and that's how I feel.
