The Unexpected Daughter tells the story of a dysfunctional family, although not for comedic purposes. This family is at the center of a culture clash, one that threatens every character and drives their feelings.
Roshan is a golden boy in the eyes of his mother, Esha. She raised him as a single mother and moved to the United States from India. He is expected to have an arranged marriage and become a doctor, even though his true passion is in art. He’s used to these expectations because he knows this is how it works in his Indian culture. But as he develops feelings for his best friend, Jenny, an American girl, his mother tries to convince him that she won’t understand their culture.
The story is told from Roshan, Esha, and Jenny’s point of view in alternating chapters. Each character has many flaws, which show how realistically they’re written. Nobody is perfect and they all have skeletons in the closet which bubble up to the surface throughout the story.
Aside from differences in how they were raised, this is also a story of addiction and how it can break families. I’m lucky that where I am in life I haven’t had to face this crisis, but I know several people who have. I learned a lot about early warning signs and best practices for facing it head-on.
The author writes about the good and bad in families. And I think we can all agree that every family is made up of both good and bad. Nothing is picture perfect, especially when that’s all that’s shown on the outside. So it’s an easy story to connect to, as most readers all have blemishes in their family background.
My thanks to the author for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
About the author:
Sheryl Parbhoo is an author, blogger, educator, and mother of five. A native southerner, her interest in the intricacies of human culture led to a BA in Anthropology from the University of Memphis. Her longing for the spice of life culminated when she married her high school sweetheart, a South African Indian immigrant, and became a stay-at-home mom to their five children for over 20 years.
Sheryl is known worldwide for her blog, Southern Life Indian Wife, where for years she shared stories from her spicy masala/southern cornbread way of life raising her large multicultural family and navigating the quirks of Southern and Indian in-law relationships. These, along with the responses received from readers, are the real-life inspirations for her novel, The Unexpected Daughter.
On sherylparbhoo.com, Sheryl shares her love of writing and personal experiences as a writer. She has been a featured contributor for Masalamommas.com, Twins Magazine, among others. She and her family’s blended cultural traditions have been highlighted on PBSNewshour.com, as well as on various online sites.
For more on Sheryl, including social media and contact information, visit her website.
Thanks to the author, I have 2 signed copies to give away. U.S. only, please. Enter on the Rafflecopter.
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