Good Indian Daughter

Written by Ruhi Lee

Narrated by Ruhi Lee

Long before Ruhi fell pregnant, she knew she was never going to be the 'good Indian daughter' her parents demanded. But when the discovery that she is having a girl sends her into a slump of disappointment, it becomes clear she's getting weighed down by emotional baggage that needs to be unpacked, quickly.

So Ruhi sets herself a mission to deal with the potholes in her past before her baby is born. Delving into her youth in suburban Melbourne, she draws a heartrending yet often hilarious picture of a family in crisis, struggling to connect across generational, cultural and personal divides. Sifting through her own shattered self-esteem, Ruhi confronts the abuse threaded through her childhood. How can she hold on to the family and culture she has known and loved her whole life, when they are the reason for her scars?

Good Indian Daughter is a brutally honest yet brilliantly funny memoir for anyone who's ever felt like a let-down.

‘To every desi girl who has felt the struggle of being a good daughter, combating the weight of expectations, self doubt and familial angst, this book will hit home.' Tasneem Chopra OAM, author, broadcaster and director.

‘Told with humour and a light touch, Good Indian Daughter lays bare the experience of growing up in a family and culture that requires its daughters to be dutiful, compliant and silent. Good Indian Daughter is a book for our times – a reminder that respect for women starts at home.' Pip Williams, bestselling author of The Dictionary of Lost Words and One Italian Summer.

‘A courageous, unflinching and ultimately redemptive account of the terrible cost of being a good Indian daughter.' Roanna Gonsalves

‘Ruhi Lee's memoir made me laugh hard and then catch my breath with hurt. It is a privilege to be taken deep into Lee's experiences and past, and to understand all the ways in which she both tries to be and rails against the notion of a Good Indian Daughter. ' Kate Mildenhall, author of The Mother Fault and Skylarking

'Good Indian Daughter lays out the complex expectations of immigrant parents who made sacrifices for the sake of family, yet thwart their children's attempts to live lives of their own. The laugh-out-loud moments make Lee's accounts of childhood trauma and her fierce and intelligent observations on Indian culture – particularly with regard to girls and women – all the more powerful as she searches and finds who she really is beneath the guise of the Good Indian Daughter.' Katherine Tamiko Arguile, author of The Things She Owned.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wavesound from W. F. Howes Ltd
• Release date: May 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781004041480

Reviews for Good Indian Daughter

[David Arnold · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic book! Engaging narration, humorous and deeply moving. Brilliant memoir!

[Reshma Khandoo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I could relate to almost every part of this story. Beautifully written, funny and inspiring…

[Mila · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As it is author’s life story, I mistakenly expected writing to be stilted & for facts to be listed in fashion of a nonfiction biography.

Nowhere did I feel like I was reading a rigid fact-by-fact nonfiction book. Writing flowed freely, enjoyably. Felt like I was reading a gripping fiction novel.

Due to the dispersal of flashbacks, I worried at the beginning if the story would be disorganized as to miss out on finishing some timeline stories. However, author was able to seamlessly flow back to unfinished timelines.

When a timeline would be interrupted [by a flashback], I wouldn’t feel impatience in waiting to return to the interrupted timeline because the flashbacks themselves were relevant & enjoyably written.

Flashbacks fit perfectly within the future-timeline narratives they were written into.

Author wrote her life story not in a monotone linear timeline, but a more fun sporadic timeline. Even with this scattered timeline, author neatly tied up all interrupted timelines to present a whole polished story to us.

[Devajani Borah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Poignant, funny, and deeply personal. Some of the author's experiences hit a little too close to home. I'm glad this book exists