First Darling of the Morning

[Umrigar] communicates her childhood longing for a cohesive family in deeply felt portraits of those she loves. . . . It is this combination of personal revelation and empathetic observation that makes Umrigars memoir so appealing.Washington Post Book WorldFrom the bestselling author of The Space Between Us and If Today Be Sweet comes a sensitive, beautifully written memoir of Thrity Umrigars youth in India, told with the honesty and guilelessness that only a childs point of view could provide.In a series of incredibly poignant stories, Thrity Umrigar traces the arc of her Bombay childhood and adolescencefrom her earliest memories growing up in a middle-class Parsi household to her eventual departure for the U.S. at age 21. Her emotionally charged scenes take an unflinching look at family issues once considered unspeakableincluding intimate secrets, controversial political beliefs, and the consequences of child abuse. Punishments and tempered hopes, struggles and small successes all weave together in this evocative, unforgettable coming-of-age tale.First Darling of the Morning also offers readers a fascinating glimpse at the 1960s and 70s Bombay of Umrigars memories. Two coming-of-age stories collide in this memoirone of a small child, and one of a nation.