Extraordinary Sunshine Weaver

Smitha Vishwanath posted that her book Coming Home is two years old this week, so I thought I would republish my review of it, which I published on MasticadoresUSA in September 2023.

The Epigraph Poem for Coming Home

I dare to make mistakes 
I dare to ask for help
I dare to change
I dare not rest on my laurels 
I dare not be complacent
I dare not flow with the tide
I dare to steer my ship in new waters 
I dare to walk on uncharted paths
I dare to be different

I will learn
I will strengthen my wings
I will fly
Not with the fear of falling, but with the dream 
Of soaring higher

When the past cannot be rewritten 
And to give up or give in is not an option 
Then one must forge forward
With faith and hope that all will be well

When I hear the phrase “coming home”, I think about my family, my cultural traditions, the food, fashions, and special places in my life. I think about my dreams that came true or didn’t, my friends and our destinies. I ponder my life decisions and pray I am following my life path as my soul intended. I pray that each day I am the best I can be, living with intention and being true to myself. I pray for true and lasting love – at least the judgment to recognize it and the courage to embrace it regardless of social conventions and expectations.

It’s no wonder I couldn’t put down this novel down. I found the characters and story arcs relatable and compelling. Although the book is 424 pages, the chapters are short and so well structured that I couldn’t help but move forward page by page uninterrupted except by meals and sleep. 

I was drawn in immediately by the opening scenes of death, grief, and loss. The death of a mother is traumatic. This beginning chapter establishes important characters and their emotional landscapes at this tender time. 

The tension created by cultural norms to be strong and even remote in the face of loss is the protagonist in this book. How will Shanaya, the antogonist, resolve her grief and find her way “home” if she is emotionally cut off from loved ones and cut off from herself? Losing a mother, who was the center of the home, is significant because the family roles are affected; people are thrown off center.

Throughout her journey to healing and wholeness, Shanaya shows forbearance, holding in her emotions for the sake of the job or someone else’s esteem. It is as though she has built a wall around her heart, a natural reaction to grief but also a response to the need to be strong in the face of bereavement, which can leave one feeling disoriented. This may be why she ends up visiting an ashram, a spiritual home which profoundly influences her healing.

Tension also arises with the pull of cultural expectations to marry the man her mother and Poona Aunty had chosen a few years earlier and whom she respects and loves as a choice. However, Suresh is so engrossed in his medical practice that he isn’t emotionally available to Shanaya, whose response is often stoic, even when he doesn’t attend their engagement party due to an emergency surgery. Can he possibly be her “home”?

Is “home” a geographic location? On her journey “home”, we find Shanaya visiting or working in many places. At one point she wonders when she will ever find “a true home”. 

Is finding a true home related to destiny? In her wanderlust, she keeps crossing paths with another man, Jai, who works in her field, banking, and who becomes more and more  present to her during difficult times. The attraction is obvious though she tries to hide it. Again, the protagonist, stoicism, prevents or delays their “merger” – to use a business term. Shanaya exhibits coolness and composure toward him. And even he bears up, patiently waiting for a deeper connection. 

Coming Home is multi-dimensional love story about love of family, love of friends, love of a life partner and love of self. Shanaya’s most life-changing decisions center on her heart. Will she forsake cultural expectations, break an engagement, and eventually surrender to true love? That is, “come home” to her heart, her true self, and to her destiny.

Vishwanath’s skill in telling this love story is impeccable. The story arc is well designed. As I said, the pacing was excellent, so I couldn’t put the book down. I also appreciated the character development, which was portrayed in vivid detail through the characters’ mannerisms, actions, fashions, and well-written dialogue. The balance of dialogue with the characters’ internal observations helped me to track the challenges and changes in Shanaya. 

Finally, because of the masterful descriptions of the exotic places, stunning fashions, and luscious food right down to detailed geographic features; colors, materials, design; ingredients, spices, and aromas, I felt I was Shanaya’s shadow, right there with her at every turn of the page. 

I highly recommend that you read Coming Home written by Smitha Vishwanath, an award-winning author. This book is available on Amazon.