The story begins on the Mayflower coming to the Americas in 1620. The ship lands in a place only inhabited by Native Americans instead of Jamestown, their original intended landing location. Jamestown was already established and was gaining interest of settlers from England. The main character, Sarah Bailey, and her husband, along with other settlers decide to build their own plantation called Plimouth.
A chance meeting between a boy, Bakhtiar, and a girl, Pooja, in a Bangkok hotel lobby leads to love. An unlikely match between a Hindu and a Muslim defies the odds and unites two families. In a world where religion defines life, they marry and move to the United States to further their education. Soon after the move, Pooja gives birth to a boy, Satya, which translates to “truth”. He is raised by his parents to find his own truths and is described as a prodigy by all who meet him.
This was a powerful tale about Esperanza, the daughter of a rebel father and her journey to truth. Conflicted with being true to the Branch of Thomas, the cult in which she is a part of, she must come to terms with her beliefs. This cult is lead by the Reverant Father who has imparted his own beliefs on the community. Her own sister Xochi joins a resistance group against the cult and opens Esperanza’s eyes to some of the questionable actions happening inside the community where she resides.
This book as the title suggests is about M.C. Ryder’s journey through creating and publicizing her books and short stories. She writes about the learning process of putting yourself out there with a book and finding your worth through yourself rather than reviews. This author’s books have been a piece of her which she thoroughly researched prior to writing and felt the feelings of her characters. Her books have been awarded through various platforms and she explains the long road and often random ways she found these accolades.
