Late afternoon yesterday, I swapped out the static page I have on my blog from the book landing page to my regular About page. It was bittersweet. From the beginning of the year, I counted down to my book release. I made plans and unmade them. The adrenalin rush between the release on Kindle and […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Baking Away The Blues
Earlier this year in May, when COVID had just taken on the pandemic status and we were all bound to our homes, Instagram convinced me that I was missing out on life because I was not baking. Most of my baking over the years has been restricted to one of two recipes I knew off […]
Read more“Sadness Amid Joy”: Lakshmi Iyer’s Middle-Grade Novel Brings New Perspectives to Adoption Literature
When my partner C.C. and I decided we were open to adopting a baby of any race, we dutifully completed each module of our agency’s mandatory online … “Sadness Amid Joy”: Lakshmi Iyer’s Middle-Grade Novel Brings New Perspectives to Adoption Literature
Read moreMy relationship with food as a first-generation mom
I talk with my mother multiple times a day. “Saaptacha?” It is routine, this asking if I’ve had my meal. By Lakshmi Lyer The post My relationship … My relationship with food as a first-generation mom
Read moreThank YOU
I woke up this morning feeling incredibly blessed. Yesterday was a dream come true. It was my book birthday. I was live on FB, joined by a handful of family and friends. I answered questions. I cut a cake as they cheered on. My local friends joined for a bite of the cake. My brother […]
Read moreDreams: The Long Story
In a few days, “Why is my Hair Curly?” will officially be out in the world in paperback. In itself, this day will be no different from the day the Kindle or Audible versions were released. In the words of a wise friend, “the story is no longer yours, let it fly”. Last year, after […]
Read moreInterview with Lakshmi Iyer: How to Grow your Blog as an Author
Hear from veteran blogger and new author, Lakshmi Iyer, as she talks about her blog, her first book and her journey as an adoptive mother. Continue … Interview with Lakshmi Iyer: How to Grow your Blog as an Author
Read moreUnboxing Happiness
The package lay on the floor, tossed carelessly by a child who found it on the front porch. It lay there unclaimed until I took a break from work to get some water. I picked it off the floor, noticed the absence of any Amazon branding and wondered who might have sent me something. As […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Doom
My right eye twitches. I press my finger on the jumping nerve to still it. Tears poke behind my eyelids. My eyes burn. I am feeling feverish from a lack of sleep and running on adrenaline for two weeks now. My phone lights up with a notification. An extended family member reaches out hearing of […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Direct Hit
Over the weeks, I have mused countless times about how much the pandemic occupies my thoughts. I have imagined in vivid detail what the virus does and can do to our bodies. I have feared that someone dear to me might be affected. Amma spiked a fever ten days ago. A mild fever she said. […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Longing
It is past bedtime but the five of us are crowded around my laptop peering into the screen. My siblings and their families are in small rectangles on the display. It is chaotic. It is loud. We sing off key as my niece cuts her birthday cake. The whole meeting is less than thirty minutes. […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Politics, Race, Children
There is a pain between my shoulder blades that is nagging. It has been a week. I lower myself to the ground so my upper back can find something firm to rest upon. My kaapi is by the side. I snack on cheese curls as I scroll through my feed. Hasan Minhaj’s video has been […]
Read moreMilestone: Fifth Grade Graduation
For the last day of the school year, today did not seem any different from the three months preceding this. When the school decided to close on March 13th, there were no goodbyes, no last day pictures, no walkouts to cheering children, no teary-eyed parents waiting in the wings to ferry their children to douse […]
Read moreAdoption: Do Not Adopt Unless You WANT To
I woke up to a message on FB with a link to this Buzzfeed article on Myka Stauffer. Prior to reading the article, I had no idea who she was. It is a reflection on how little I am connected to the world of influencers and their ilk. I read the article a few times. […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Ceding Control
Waiting. This word in itself sums up the entirety of my existence these days. I am waiting for many things. Sometimes, it feels like all of my life is one big wait for something to happen. Everything is scripted in my head, the joys, the grief, the anticipation, the highs, the lows. It is frozen […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Moments
She is seated on the kitchen island, a tad too big, still small enough as she watches her Appa eat sautéed brinjal and warm rice. Every now and then, she would look inquiringly at her dad and he would oblige, the way parent birds feed babies. “Is this your dinner?” her question is thoughtful. Her […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Emotional
I have broken down every alternate day this week. Some days it’s been a full meltdown replete with ugly crying. Other days, it has been that heavy feeling in the head, with the tears hovering right inside my eyelids, threatening to fall. Today, the emotions are of a different kind. I received the final versions […]
Read moreFilm Review: the half of it
About twenty-three years ago, I created my first personal email account. It was an account that I shared with my best friend. It was also an account that saw a lot of emails go back and forth with “pen pals”, people we did not know. There were no smartphones, no way to scan and send […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Jugaad
I am in the bedroom browsing through my phone when I hear Laddu’s voice. “Mommy, my glasses broke.” It takes a minute to register. “What do you mean broke? Broke?” The questions swirled. How? When? Who? In the end, I inspected the glasses, pronounced it dead. The lack of emotion, the lack of panic. The […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Good Days. Bad Days.
Yesterday was a bad day. It also was a good day. I started the day with excitement. I woke up brimming with ideas for book promotion. My brain was on overdrive, making lists, thinking of ways to promote the book. I logged into work and diligently prepared for a presentation in the afternoon. I had […]
Read moreBook Update: Why is my hair curly?
So, I have news. “Why is my hair curly?” will be available on Amazon in a few weeks in Kindle format. The physical book will take a couple of months to be available given the lockdown in India. While I wait for the book to be available and permission to share the cover for the […]
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