Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s debut novel narrates the story of the two mothers Kavita and Somer, who both made courageous decisions that changed their lives as well as their loved ones' lives forever.
'Secret Daughter' Plot Summary
The story opens with the scene of Kavita, a young Indian woman, giving birth to her second baby girl in an abandoned hut in a poor village.
In a society that favours sons and where many fathers get rid of their daughters, Kavita decides to save her newborn daughter's life by giving her away to an orphanage in Mumbai. Kavita’s heartbreaking choice is destined to have a huge impact on the lives of many other people and not just her own family.
Somer, a young American physician who lives in San Francisco with her Indian husband, discovers that she can never have children. She visits India months after this wrenching discovery to adopt Asha, Kavita's one-year-old daughter, and take her back to America.
Spanning a period of over twenty years, Shilpi Somaya Gowda skilfully interweaves the stories of these two families living in such distant parts of the world; the two families who have never met but share a precious daughter that binds both of their destinies.
Growing up in America with her adoptive parents, Asha starts to question her identity and tries to know more about herself and her biological family. She embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery that will change the way she views both the world and herself forever.
Secret Daughter is a spellbinding novel that traces the lives of two families - one American, one Indian - that are full of challenges, achievements, tragedies and most important of all, overwhelming emotions.
The novel is a must-read for anyone who is touched by adoption or intricate motherhood mechanisms or intercultural marriages.
Author Shilpi Somaya Gowda
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. She spent a summer in college 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 now makes her home in California with her husband and children.
Her debut novel Secret Daughter has hit the bestseller lists of the New York Times, Dallas Morning News, Toronto Star, National Post, and has spent over a year on the Globe & Mail national list, including 16 weeks at #1. It has been translated into 18 languages.
- Source:
Shilpi Somaya Gowda. Secret Daughter. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. 2010. ISBN: 978-0-06-192835-2
Amira Abozeid - Amira Abozeid is a freelance writer and translator based in the UK. She has a BA in Political Science and MBA in Marketing.
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