Agastya Raj has a stroke that leaves him paralyzed from the neck down and unable to speak. As he lies in bed enveloped by a circle of love and care orchestrated by his wife Khushi, he shares with us the tumultuous thoughts that swirl in his mind. In this fictionalized narrative, Rima Pande immerses herself in her father’s consciousness to become his voice, bringing to you the story of her parents, her father’s illness and her powerful, giving mother. His Voice is a sensitive portrayal of deep family roots and often unspoken bonds across four generations. With plenty of little twists in between that will make you nod and smile.This book is my attempt to give voice to my father's unspoken thoughts and capture the swirl of emotions coursing through his mind during two tumultuous years when he was bedridden and unable to speak. I try to put myself in his mind, feel what he is feeling, imagine what he is thinking, and experience events from his perspective.As much as it is a narrative of his thoughts and experiences, His Voice is about respect, resilience and realism. Respect - how important it is to maintain dignity for a person who is in a helpless state; Resilience - working with what life throws at us, with a smile on our face; Realism - understanding that effort may not always yield the results one hopes for, but continuing, and not giving up. His Voice is also about Relationships - steadfast spousal commitment, the parent-child bond and familial support. I hope to coax readers to pause, acknowledge and appreciate the key relationships in their life, think about how they view and interact with people who are not fully functional, and deliberate on the grey area between living and existing, which is defined by attitude, not physical and mental status.
