My name comes from “magdalena,” a person from Magdala in Palestine—like Mary of Magdala, or Mary Magdalene, as she would later be known. The name of this site, Laughing Madeleine, is a clin d’oeil (wink) at the French expression, pleurer comme une Madeleine (crying like a Magdalene), which describes someone who cries excessively (Mary Magdalene is said to have washed Christ’s feet with her tears).
Before earning an M.A. in French Cultural Studies from Columbia University, I received my B.A. in French Culture with a minor in Creative Writing from U.C. Berkeley.
I live in Paris, France with my husband and son.
Contact me:
I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it’s the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. —Audrey Hepburn