Thank you for reading This Stolen Life. I really hope you enjoyed the story!
This is a story that I knew I wanted to tell, but wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to find a home for it. Soma, Yamuna and Bim came in my mind fully formed. I left them as scribbled notes in a notebook and wrote five other books (under my pen name Rhoda Baxter) before I came back to them and gave them some proper attention. I’m incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to share their story with you now. Written under my real name, too!
If you enjoyed reading This Stolen Life, please, please leave a review. It doesn’t have to be long. I’m always grateful for even a few lines that say whether you liked the book or not. Quite apart from cheering up my day (thank you!), your reviews can help other readers decide whether to take a chance on a book by a relatively unknown author. They really do make the world of difference.
I wanted to write a story about postnatal depression and two women who were both united and divided by their love for the same baby. When I wrote about Yamuna, I drew from my own experience of postnatal depression. Unlike Yamuna, I had a sharp-eyed health visitor who spotted the signs and made me get help within a matter of weeks. Who knows, if it hadn’t been for her intervention, I may have ended up paranoid like Yamuna. If you have been through it - you are not alone.
I knew there needed to be something more and the missing element fell into place when I read The Last Magdalen by Wilkie Collins and started thinking what would happen if someone stole an identity and made a whole new life for themselves now.
I would really love to hear what you think of the story. So, apart from writing a review (hint, hint), if you want to chat to me or ask questions, I’m usually hanging around on Twitter as @jeevanicharika (or more often as @rhodabaxter). Come say hello.
If you fancy a peek behind the curtain (and a free short story), you can join my newsletter group at http://subscribe.jeevanicharika.com/TSL
Happy reading
Jeevani
Website: www.jeevanicharika.com