Summary<\/strong> \u00a0(from Goodreads<\/a>):<\/p>\n Somer’s life is everything she imagined it would be \u2014 she’s newly married and has started her career as a physician in San Francisco \u2014 until she makes the devastating discovery she never will be able to have children. The same year in India, a poor mother makes the heartbreaking choice to save her newborn daughter’s life by giving her away. It is a decision that will haunt Kavita for the rest of her life, and cause a ripple effect that travels across the world and back again. Asha, adopted out of a Mumbai orphanage, is the child that binds the destinies of these two women. We follow both families, invisibly connected until Asha’s journey of self-discovery leads her back to India. Compulsively readable and deeply touching, <\/span><\/em>Secret Daughter<\/span>\u00a0is a story of the unforeseen ways in which our choices and families affect our lives, and the indelible power of love in all its many forms.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n My Thoughts<\/strong>:<\/p>\n I LOVED this book! I love reading books about other cultures, but especially India. I work with people from India on a day to day basis and I eat up any literature or stories about people there. \u00a0This is a book that I couldn’t put down because I just had to see what happens next. I was particularly interested in the portrayal of motherly love across cultures. \u00a0It is also showing the importance of our heritage and understanding our identity. It was a beautiful book that made you feel like you were in India experiencing the culture shock right along with the characters.<\/p>\n Summary<\/strong> (from Goodreads<\/a>):<\/p>\n The first of his family to go to college, Anil Patel, the golden son, carries the weight of tradition and his family\u2019s expectations when he leaves his tiny Indian village to begin a medical residency in Dallas, Texas, at one of the busiest and most competitive hospitals in America. When his father dies, Anil becomes the de facto head of the Patel household and inherits the mantle of arbiter for all of the village\u2019s disputes. But he is uneasy with the custom, uncertain that he has the wisdom and courage demonstrated by his father and grandfather. His doubts are compounded by the difficulties he discovers in adjusting to a new culture and a new job, challenges that will shake his confidence in himself and his abilities.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Back home in India, Anil\u2019s closest childhood friend, Leena, struggles to adapt to her demanding new husband and relatives. Arranged by her parents, the marriage shatters Leena\u2019s romantic hopes and eventually forces her to make a desperate choice that will hold drastic repercussions for herself and her family. Though Anil and Leena struggle to come to terms with their identities thousands of miles apart, their lives eventually intersect once more\u2014changing them both and the people they love forever.<\/em><\/p>\n My Thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n I loved Secret Daughter and I was a little bit worried about how The Golden Son would compare. If it was even possible, I loved this book even more. It talks about the experience of an international student in America, which is my job and my reality day in and day out. \u00a0Reading from the perspective of the student about the cultural shock while dealing with the conflicts and tension back home in India was extremely interesting to me. \u00a0In my opinion the author painted a very moving picture of the struggles of Leena faced back in India. \u00a0I would 10\/10 recommend, especially if you love cultural books. On the more critical aspect of it, I felt like the author really told you what the moral of the story was, and I prefer to determine that for myself.<\/p>\n![\"books](\"https:\/\/emmaletters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/File_0001-225x300.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe Golden Son (My Rating: 4.5\/5 stars)<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nA Man Called Ove (My rating: 5\/5 stars)<\/h3>\n
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