June 29, 2021 THE DAMAGE DONE

 I was fourteen years old when my mother threw me out--Literally. All my possessions were heaped in a pile on the front lawn. This experience has haunted me for over 40 years. It's left an imprint on my soul. Although it was done in a fit of anger--there was never any apology. No real attempt to repair the damage until it was too late.  One day I had a mother and the next--she was gone. One day I had siblings and then--they were gone. It was kind of like in the Godfather when he says--YOU'RE DEAD TO ME. This event has shaped my life--for better or worse. It's made me--fiercely independent--somewhat callus--and a bit reserved.  Parents have the power to make or break their kids. EVERY decision they make has REAL consequences.  Believe it or not-- CHILDREN ARE AFFECTED PERMANENTLY. I'm proof of that.  Once you become a parent--you don't have the right to be selfish. It's really NOT about you anymore. I've tried to live this because I don't want what happened to me to happen to my kids. I know life isn't fair and things happen BUT I am ultimately in control my own behavior and it's up to me to  think about the long term consequences of my actions--because they really matter.  Jivan, the main character in Megha Majumdar's debut novel A Burning, learns this painful lesson the hard way. Set in Kolkata, India, Jivan is a Muslim girl living in the slums who witnesses a terrorist attack on a train on her way home from work. She  posts a negative comment about the government on Facebook in regard to the terrorist attack and later finds herself arrested for the crime. There are only two people who can help her---PT Sir, her former gym teacher who has aspirations of moving up after joining a right wing political party and Lovely--a transgender with dreams of Bollywood. Lovely can provide an alibi for Jivan but at a price that may be too high. This fast paced, well written novel is ultimately about corruption, class, and politics in contemporary India--which is literally quite frightening. Read this 290 page--4 mile run--book for yourself to find out what happens to Jivan in this lawless land where corruption drips into every section of society. It's well worth the read.