A stunning recollection of a life lived during a horrific time in India. Muslims were hunted, slaughtered, and set on fire by Hindu gangs wielding weapons. Chowdhary writes with honesty and clarity about the atrocities that occurred during the pogrom. She stopped going to school and the shops. Her extended family hid out for months in their apartment afraid that they would be next to die.

The descriptions of family members and the author's relationships with them are emotional and entertaining reading. She describes how the women sometimes changed their names and wore saris to disguise that they were Muslim. Her tyrannical father had an explosive temper and cussed when he drank too much. She also writes lovingly and tenderly about her younger sister and her mother's strength and resolve to always support her daughters.

Chowdhary writes about growing up in a time and a place of violence and uncertainty. Her writing skips around to different periods in her young life. I found her bits of humor refreshing, giving me a hopeful outlook on Chowdhary's life. I am personally fascinated with India and lived near Delhi for two years. It was also exciting to know and read that Chowdhary lives and works in Madison, WI, where I grew up.