If you’ve opened this email, I can assume you have some vague interest in finding out more about me. Many of you already know me and probably have a lot of questions (unless you’ve met my mom, which pretty much explains everything).
Some of those questions will remain forever unanswered. Others, I’ve set out to address in a short book titled American.
It’s 130 pages of personal essays in varying formats. The good news? You don’t have to read the whole book. No one will tell. You’ll be merely a missing digit in my ‘Stats’ tab, an absence that I am used to.
American is structured to lend context to and tie together the ill-carved puzzle pieces of my life. It’s a collection of my frustrations and incongruities with some [hopefully successful] attempts at humor and ridiculousness interjected throughout. Most of all, it’s an attempt to unpack the warfare of my culture and circumstances versus me.
While some chapters may seem abrasive, or others, ‘hokey’, each offers a piece of understanding. Understanding is a magical state which I strive to achieve with all people; thus, I’ve compiled American in hopes of gifting some understanding to you too.
The book is written in four parts:
Part 1 - Scrambling | A narrative of my entire life’s chaos thus far
Part 2 - Dad, you can skip this one (AKA: “Love Story”) | The title says it all
Part 3 - Nothing is as they think it is | Speculations on being out of place
Part 4 - I don’t mind this purgatory | A humorous detailing of the mundane
These will be posted chapter-by-chapter for smaller, blog-length reads.
Chapters don’t necessarily lead into each other, so you can pick and choose which parts are of interest to you (if any :/ ). It should also be mentioned that, as with all memoirs, there will be some errors of truth; they are not intentional, only inevitable when writing about events that happened years ago.
I could have sought a publisher for the book, but you probably know I’m not that much of a ‘go getter’. I also particularly dislike charging for my writing, which is why paid subscribtions to this Substack come with little benefit beyond warming my heart and receiving my eternal gratitude (and fresh-baked cookies).
All that to say…
Please enjoy at least some smidgeon of American coming to an inbox near you soon.
PS: I will still be writing regular blogs and my India travel series (which, according to the stats, none of you are here for :/ ) amidst the output of American, so keep an eye out!