About the
Book:
further studies and decides to settle
down there. Determined to be a 'somebody'
from a 'nobody' she blends with the
Americans via the accent and their
mannerisms while having a live-in
relationship with her European boyfriend,
Adan Somoza.
When illness hits home, Neena rushes to
meet her ailing dad. Tragedy strikes
and amidst the mingling with relatives and
friends, she finds herself suffocated
with the two different cultures that she
has been breathing since she moved to
the United States. How will she strike a
balance between both the cultures as
she continues to support her widowed
mother? Will she be able to do justice
to her personal and professional life
after the loss?
Amidst the adjusting she bonds with an
ally and learns about ties beyond
blood. On what grounds will she be able to
form an invisible thread that she has
longed for since childhood?
Breathing Two Worlds ventures into
cultures and ethnicity allowing Neena
to ponder upon her foundation and
priorities.
Available
on
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About the Author
Ruchira Khanna, a biochemist turned
writer, left her homeland of India to
study in America, where she obtained her
Master’s degree in Biochemistry from
SJSU and a degree in Technical Writing
from UC
Berkeley.
After finishing her studies, Ruchira
worked as a biochemist at a Silicon
Valley startup for five years. After the
birth of her son, Ruchira took a job
as a technical writer, so that she could
work from home. Soon, she began doing
freelance writing work as well.
Her love of writing grew and she started
working on her own books. After four
years of freelancing, Ruchira published
her first book, a fiction novel for
adults called Choices.
Then came the children’s book The
Adventures of Alex and Angelo: The
Mystery of the Missing Iguana. She got a
thumb’s up review from Kirkus
Reviews
In January 2016, she has published her
In January 2016, she has published her
second fictional novel Voyagers into
the Unknown. It talks about the quest for
happiness as the heavy hearted
tourists travel miles from different parts of
the world to Raj Touristry in Agra,
India. Return to their respective home with
a healed heart. This book talks about
their journey!
In Breathing Two Worlds, Ruchira talks
about ethnicity and cultures, and
helps to strike a balance via a fiction-drama
novel as her characters breathe two
worlds.
In addition to writing books, she is a
holistic healer associated with
Stanford Healing Partners and also maintains a
blog of daily mantras on Blogspot,
called Abracabadra. Ruchira currently
resides in California with her
family.
Find
her on:
Website
BlogMy Review (3.5/5)
The book had me at its idea. The metaphoric title seems just apt, and someone who relocates to another continent/country can very well relate to the conundrum. The story follows the journey of Neena Arya as she adapts to the professional lifestyle and embraces the work culture of a new culture while still keeping herself grounded to her roots.
This dilemma is as old as time, or at least time since travel was invented. But the point is the story was simple, lucid and easy. It is a quick read too, and the occasional quirks of India and the clashes of the culture are an entertaining element.
The millennial generation will have these lives over and over again, in different forms, so the story makes a whole lot of sense. The interactions between the family members of the protagonist and her boyfriend were warm and cordial, which was a welcome departure from the cliche.
At some point I may have thought that this theme has now been beaten to death and something more crispy is worth exploration, but the story, due to its simplicity, made me finish it till the end. If for nothing else, for the metaphor!
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