Book Review with Ranjani Rao's book， Rewriting My Happily Ever After。Divorce is a word that conjures the image of two individuals baring their fangs at each other。 Ugly with custody battle if there is a child involved; we have heard stories of quite a bit of mud-slinging and "he said。。she said，" scenarios。 But here is a first hand account of Dr。 Ranjani Rao's， book 'Rewriting my Happily Ever After'。 This story is honest， raw， and poignant， yet not shrill。 Beginning each chapter of her journey wi Book Review with Ranjani Rao's book， Rewriting My Happily Ever After。Divorce is a word that conjures the image of two individuals baring their fangs at each other。 Ugly with custody battle if there is a child involved; we have heard stories of quite a bit of mud-slinging and "he said。。she said，" scenarios。 But here is a first hand account of Dr。 Ranjani Rao's， book 'Rewriting my Happily Ever After'。 This story is honest， raw， and poignant， yet not shrill。 Beginning each chapter of her journey with an amazingly apt quote， I couldn't bring myself to hurry through her book。 I was like a cow chewing the cud and ruminating and collect some amazing quotes in the process。Despite her obvious struggle of self-doubt， loneliness and trying to handle all duties and responsibilities of a single， working mother， she takes time for self-care as she takes a leaf from the poet Maggie Smith's “beauty emergency” to describe moments when you have to stop everything and look。 As I flipped through the pages my respect for Ranjani only grew for she refused to use her daughter as a pawn against her husband。 When she wrote， 'A large part of my childhood had been about doing things because it was expected， not because I wanted to do it。 From being on my best behavior to please parents to being diligent at school to impress teachers， life had been a series of keeping up appearances，' she was speaking for an entire generation。 Entering an arranged marriage and trying to give it all， was also keeping in line with expectations。I was left moist-eyed when she wrote about the day the divorce after nineteen years of marriage was final。 'Itwas a day filled with relief and grief in equal measure。 I mourned for the fact that we would not create memories together。 I rejoiced for the fact that we would not create more memories together。'When she ended her memoir with， 'Like a child building a brand new toy with a heap of Lego blocks， I reassembled the useful pieces from the debris of my old life with patience， persistence， and a strong belief that a better life was possible。 In doing so， I was able to reveal a new avatar of myself，' I couldn't but cheer the woman who emerged from the experience of a soured marriage but did not allowed the experience to sour her life。 I would strongly recommend this book to everyone who is undertaking this journey called life。 。。。more