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A Life of my Own by Rupangi Sharma (Book Reviews: 4/5)

'A Life of my Own' is a story that will take you on an emotional ride; sympathy, joy, anger, and pride, all wrapped up in this 168 page book.

Shweta is pregnant for the first time post several years of her marriage, but her husband and in-laws force her to consult a doctor for the baby's gender reveal. Things go downhill after that and Shweta has no other choice but to protect her foetus from her torturing in-laws. Her journey is inspiring and written with honesty.

The uniqueness of the plot was the conversation between the baby and God, where the inquisitive former would ask a variety of questions about it's mother and the people around her. Their brief chit-chats are pretty interesting as well. I appreciate the author's way of presenting her characters.

As much I enjoyed reading the book, my heart sank down everytime there was a remark on female foeticide in India and the blind bias for a male child. We usually ignore this fact assuming it's a rural thing and uneducated thing and 'big cities don't have such problems. ' But the illegal and unethical practice is followed almost equally in all the social circles, irrespective of their religion, living standards, caste, economic stature and education. 'What if it's a girl? ' is a question that haunts the people when it comes to welcoming a baby in the family. Unnecessary pressure is thrust upon expecting women and a biased behavior comes their way based on the gender of their child. The sad part is, many women have no other option but to succumb to their family's orders of aborting the female foetus, and the numbers of that happening are horrifying.

The truth of a woman's pain resonates very well throughout the book, and that's what makes it pretty realistic and relatable. The characters are defined well and so is the pace of the story. The only thing which I felt unnecessary in the book was the character of Sahil. His association with Shweta somehow reflected that she would need a man's support immediately after she leaves one. I believe his involvement could have been limited to friendship and not a fling.

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