Review - Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

A world away from each other are two mothers desperately wanting a child. One woman in a remote village in India prays the child will be a boy – Kavita has already lost one girl child to the anger of her husband – but her prayers are not answered when she gives birth to yet another girl. But she is determined to save this child, even if it means giving her up for adoption and never seeing her again.

The other woman in America, a doctor, has tried everything possible to conceive a child of her own, but finally must face the facts that she can not. Somer’s India-born husband suggests that they look into adoption from his home country, and once she sees the picture of the beautiful baby girl with the unusual eyes, she is smitten and the child comes home to be raised in California.

Asha grows up the strong-willed daughter of two doctors, knowing little about her Indian culture aside from the small amount her father has shared with her. But when offered a chance during college to study and work for a year in India, Asha leaps at the chance to become acquainted with her father’s family and the country of her birth. But she also has a secret desire to search for the woman who gave birth to her. Her mother Somer is terrified that she will lose her daughter, but allows Asha the freedom to go and find what she is looking for – hoping that her daughter will come back home to her.

Two women, one daughter, three lives intertwined. This is the premise of the fascinating debut novel “Secret Daughter,” by Shilpi Somaya Gowda. Gowda explores the heartwarming, but sometimes heart-wrenching world of motherhood in this story. Drawing from her experiences of working in an Indian orphanage one summer, she weaves the exotic scents and traditions, but often abject poverty of India together with the affluent lifestyle of American excess to create a masterfully written story that will touch readers’ hearts.

“Secret Daughter” is one of those books that will stay with you for a long, long time.

About The Author:

Shilpi Somaya Gowda was born and raised in Toronto to parents who migrated there from Mumbai. She holds an MBA from Stanford University, and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1991, she spent a summer as a volunteer in an Indian orphanage, which seeded the idea for her first novel, Secret Daughter. A native of Canada, she has lived in New York, North Carolina, and Texas. She currently makes her home in California with her husband and children.

I receieved a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review. I was not compensated for my opinion.

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