Now I was

Luis Fernando Verissimo is a fan of Cláudia Laitano: "A clear text, with just the right balance of humor and seriousness, and a touch of lyricism. The result: a delightful columnist." Jorge Furtado also: "Cláudia Laitano writes very well (...). Good memory, intelligence, good humor, personality, courage. What more do you expect from a columnist?" Anyone who isn't a fan yet will become one after reading "AGORA EU ERA" (Now I Was), a book that collects the chronicles of the author from Rio Grande do Sul. The idea for the title came from an interview in which Chico Buarque recounted how he wrote the lyrics to "João e Maria." He said the idea for the opening line came to him while watching children playing: "Now I was the good guy and you were the bad guy," they said. "An absurd expression in everyday speech, yet perfectly logical in the discourse of children's fantasy, 'now I was' encapsulates a sense of transience somewhat reminiscent of the metaphor of the river. When the game begins, 'now' no longer exists and 'I' is already a new character," says the author. The chronicles collected in the book record Cláudia's various "selves" at different moments, successive "nows." In a lighthearted and entertaining way, the author recounts the turbulence she experiences in her daily life as a woman, mother, journalist, and citizen.