Locked in My Heart: Mother-Daughter Bonds Across Borders and Generations

By Gita Chandran

Have you lost someone close to you? 

 

Do you wonder how you'll ever move on? 

 

What lessons can grief teach us?

 

In her raw and reflective debut memoir, author Gita Chandran traces her winding path through grief after her beloved mother's sudden passing. 

 

Readers of Locked in My Heart, will gain:

• Insight into a close mother-daughter relationship through intimate memories and scenes

• Perspective on how life stages shape not only children's development but also mothers' personal growth

• Inspiration to live life to the fullest and never take your loved ones for granted

• Motivation to carry on the legacies of those you've lost  

• Comfort through exploring the bonds of unconditional love

 

Gita grapples with intense sorrow while striving to heal and find meaning after her loss. Though the grief remains, she discovers signs of her mother everywhere and passes on her wisdom to her own children.  

 

If you seek hope and connection after losing a loved one, immerse yourself in Gita Chandran's emotional debut. 

 

Locked in My Heart reminds us to appreciate each moment with those who matter most.

 

Scroll up and grab your copy today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gita Chandran
• Release date: May 4, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224326624

Book preview

Introduction

Anyone who has ever lost someone close knows that when a loved one dies, their physical presence leaves a hole. In that hole is where the grief goes. The grief makes a home there and it never goes away. Instead, it becomes a part of us–a living, breathing part of our soul. And hopefully, with time, we learn to accept it. Perhaps we can even love it, just as we loved the one whose loss put it there. The grief reminds us of them every day.

This story is dedicated to my mother, who loved her children with all her soul and gave us everything she had to give.

I lost my mother on Mother's Day, 2021. You aren't supposed to lose your mother on Mother's Day. Mother's Day is supposed to be a celebration, not a day of mourning. That was a day that changed my life forever, and I will never have another normal Mother's Day again. No longer is it a day to be pampered and spoiled by my kids and husband. I don't get to wake up and smile lightheartedly, wondering what the kids might have in store for me. I don’t get a Mother's Day champagne brunch with flowers, or a chance to adore the bracelet my husband bought for the occasion, with no other thoughts than the love of my family. No longer can I call my mother on the phone, or video chat with her and see her beaming face at the bouquet I sent her. I don't have the opportunity to hug my mother and tell her, Thank you for all you did.

Mother's Day for me is forever changed–I can't deny that. But perhaps it is a day to celebrate, after all. Because now, Mother's Day has a whole other meaning in my life. It is the day I celebrate the life of my mother. After two years of difficult, painful Mother's Days since my mom's sudden departure from life, I realize that there is beauty in this day. Perhaps it was her final parting gift to me and I've just been looking at it all wrong. Perhaps she chose this day, after all, so that I would always remember the depth of her love for me. Maybe she chose to depart on that particular day so that when my kids wrap their arms around me every Mother's Day, I will know that my own mother is right there doing the same thing from heaven, showering me with love from above. At least, I like to think so.

Being a mother is the most difficult job there is. Only mothers know the true extent of how hard it really is. It takes all of you. Mothers give, and give, and selflessly give. They sacrifice their lives, their bodies, and many times their own hopes and dreams so that their children may have everything they need–including a better future than the one they had. Mothers are like the sky: always there, omnipresent. And yet, they rarely get the credit they deserve for all their hard work. It's the hardest job, and many times it's a thankless job. Kids grow up and give their mothers no thought–when they become teenagers, even less. Mothers are so familiar to us that, like the sky, we don't even notice they are there, until they are suddenly gone. Then, just as if the sky has fallen, life shatters in a single instant when they are no longer there.

I am as guilty as anyone of doing this same thing. I didn't appreciate my own mother's sacrifices until I became a mother myself. Then I learned for myself what it is to sacrifice and to love, really love. My eyes were opened. It was then that I learned how much my mother truly loved me because I experienced that love when my babies were born. And yet, once my own children came along, I had even less time to devote to my mother. With an ocean between us, it wasn't easy. My mother straddled two worlds: the one of her childhood—India—and the one where her children had made their lives—America.

I'm not sure why this is, but it seems that we never quite know just what we have until it is too late. No matter how many times we are told in life to always appreciate what we have, we never do. Life is full of sayings like "You don't know what