Thursday, August 22, 2019

August 22, 2019 FREE FALLIN'

 Believe it or not--I fell again.  How many times can ONE PERSON FALL-- Seriously?? I can NOT believe my bones are still intact. OK--So I've fractured my elbow a few times--my ribs a few times but NEVER A CAST. Knocking on wood right now. This time--I was running to my car in the rain and SLIPPED. Banged the SAME ELBOW--whacked my Back--Tailbone-Wrists. It's been 9 days and I'm still BLACK & BLUE --with a sickly tinge of YELLOW.  Actually--ICING 3 of my injures-- while I write this blog. Sitting on an ice pack--another wrapped around my knee--another wrapped around my elbow. Trying to recap my falling history. Fell off of a trampoline--hit by a truck--hit by a car- rollerskating/ice skating falls--Nine months pregnant tripped over MYSELF--sidewalk falls --sand falls--running falls--rain/ice/snow falls. OUCH. THERE ARE TOO MANY FALLS TO COUNT. No worries. Still out running--walking--and doing  some WRIST-FREE yoga. CAN'T KEEP ME DOWN FOR LONG.
The same could be said for Bhima, the main character of Thrity Umrigar's wonderful novel of 2018 The Secrets Between Us. Before I go any further, I need to tell you that this is the sequel to The Space Between Us which was a National bestseller in 2006. In the first novel, Bhima has been a servant for the Dubash Family in Mombai for over 20 years. After her granddaughter, Maya, reveals a crime against her by a member of the Dubash family, Bhima is fired and forced to find a new way to support her family. As  The Secrets between Us unfolds, Bhima's only wish is  that her granddaughter attend college and have a better life, and for that to happen,  she needs money.  As luck would have it, Bhima meets Parvati, and older woman with a sad past,  at the local market and the two become unlikely business partners. As their friendship grows, the two women learn to live on their own terms and make peace with the past. This is a story about second changes, friendship and the  survival of women at the lowest end of the caste system in India. It's about 350 pages or a 4 mile run worth every page.

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