The Awakening of Meena Rawat

<p><strong>With its emotion-provoking plot and well-drawn characters this novel will remain in your thoughts long after the last page is read. -<em>Sublime Book Review</em></strong></p><p><strong>While the romance between Meena and Ramu makes for an excellent way to pass a few evenings reading what makes the book so interesting are the author's deep ties to her Indian culture. -<em>Hollywood Book Reviews</em></strong></p><p>Every day twenty-eight-year-old Meena Rawat is hounded by inner voices reminding her to be grateful for the middle-class American life she has-even if she is stuck in an unhappy marriage. She and her daughter are both safe clothed and fed more than she could say for herself as a child. Born into the Untouchables caste in a small village in North India Meena frequently relives the nightmare of abuses and slurs she suffered in an orphanage. There is only one bright spot in her memories: the fellow 'Untouchable' orphan who became her best friend and first love Ramu.</p><p>When Ramu reappears in her new American life he's different. Unlike her he has cast off the shame of their upbringing and become a confident entrepreneur. Their meeting rekindles a lost passion and the two find they share a mutual sense of obligation to help the children of the outcast community they left behind. Meena fantasizes about a future with him but will her responsibility to her daughter-and the certainty that she would lose custody-keep her chained?</p>