 In 1976 she received her master's degree in Philosophy from the Sorbonne, Paris, and in 1978 went on to complete an MA in philosophy and aesthetics at , where she completed a doctorate in philosophy in 1981.During those years she studied with a teacher she admires, Emmanuel Levinas, and her work focused on the notion of asceticism in Christian mysticism.While employed by the Ministry of Culture in Paris, where she remained between 1981 and 1986, she produced her first novel, "Le Livre des Nuits" ("The Book of Nights") in 1985.