Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

At Least You Have Your Health by Madi Sinha is a fiction novel about a high-scale wellness clinic and the women who run it. The story revolves around Dr. Maya Rao, a former gynecologist forced to find a job, and Amelia DeGilles, the queen bee of the neighborhood moms. Amelia invites Maya to join her specialty wellness clinic for the rich and powerful. Will the pair succeed in their endeavor, or will unforeseen obstacles get in their way?

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1 that introduces us to the characters:

"When Amelia DeGilles—forty-five, tailored jeans, nude slingbacks with a red sole—caught the arm of Maya Rao—thirty-six, threadbare leggings, brown stain on one off-brand white canvas sneaker—in the parking lot of Hamilton Hall Academy after the October parent council meeting, people noticed.
It wasn’t just that Amelia DeGilles was known for keeping the company of a very small and carefully-vetted circle of other Hamilton Hall mothers, but that the slightly disheveled young Indian woman with whom she was now engaged in intimate conversation drove a Honda Odyssey with silver duct tape on one side view mirror and had very recently, only moments earlier in fact, come into some notoriety."

Overall, At Least You Have Your Health is an interesting look into motherhood, medicine, and women working together. One highlight of this book is the humorous anecdotes of motherhood that we get from the two main characters. Maya in particular is trying to balance multiple commitments, juggling parenting her children with her work-life. If I had to complain about one thing, I would say that the synopsis makes the book sound a bit like a thriller with the talk about hidden and dangerous secrets. In actuality, this book remains light-hearted throughout and lacks suspense and action. However, I'm sure there are plenty of readers looking for a book like this. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of women's fiction, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in April!

I enjoyed this title. I felt as exhausted reading the to-dos from the beginning, but it was clear keeping up with the neighbors wasn't possible. It was a peek inside what really seems to go on. I thought parts of it could have been fleshed out a bit more, but overall, it was a good read.

A fun, slightly snarky read about an Indian-American doctor trying to balance three children, a husband, and a career. When she loses her hospital job, she ends up signing on with a concierge practice and that's where the snark begins. Let's face it. We all like to have a look at the fabulously rich and be able to laugh at their lives. Sinha does it well, with touches of realism as she gently nudges her readers on issues of class and race. This should appeal to many different types of readers.

This was one of those books that I almost didn’t finish because the first 50 pages or so went nowhere. But since I didn’t have any other books to read at the time, I told myself I’d give it one more chapter and it was only then that the story became interesting. Maya grew up in a poor Indian immigrant family where nothing but perfection is acceptable. As such she was never satisfied with what she had – especially when she started working as the staff gynecologist at a boutique women’s health center that catered to rich privileged women who didn’t even blink when shelling out thousands of dollars for suspect new age treatments. In her quest for success Maya puts aside her better judgement and starts emulating those women. It is only after things go terribly wrong that she realizes success is much more than making a boatload of money. Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for giving me an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved seeing Maya change over the course of the book. She’s a pretty relatable character, but I wish the beginning was a little faster.

I flew through this book in two days and absolutely LOVED it. It gave me Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers vibes and it was glorious. I laughed out loud repeatedly and couldn’t stop turning the pages. It’s also very timely in the topics it covers. Thank you NetGalley! I will be recommending this novel to both book clubs I’m in.

I was lucky enough to snag an advance digital copy of AT LEAST YOU HAVE YOUR HEALTH by Madi Sinha through a Berkley Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thanks for the early look, and have a safe and happy weekend!