Being a lifelong learner, I hardly create my reading lists.Instead of me needing to choose books, the chosen books reach me in a magicalway. ‘Close to the Bone’ is one such book that captured me. If it has reachedyou too, I suggest not missing reading it at all.

While the words in golden beautify the book cover, the realgold is hidden inside this memoir of Lisa Rani Ray, a popular name in the worldof modeling and cinema. It’s her soulful saga that begins with her heartwarmingchildhood stories and family incidents. There is a lot interesting to read,from carrying a mixed-race legacy with her to the experiences she gained from hertime spent with family, relatives and friends in two different countries, Indiaand Poland, where her father and mother respectively belong to.

Lisa has also wonderfully written an account of her life in Calcutta,Canada, New York and London, among other places, and her professional life that‘accidentally’ started in Bombay. Her inclination to writing and poetry, practicingyoga and meditation, mural painting, and travel and adventure is all mentioned beautifully.From her inner conflicts, failed relationships, bulimia issue and fears in lifeto her graduation from the deadly disease of multiple myeloma/cancer, she hasvery honestly penned it all down.

What most appealed and related to me was the storytelling ofher deep spiritual adventures and her quest to understand and achieve abalanced life by believing constantly in her positive thoughts and not in thenorms and fears that prevail around one’s choices in life. She has shown thecourage to rise above societal tags and bound beliefs to spread awareness aboutissues close to her heart.

Whether it is about undergoing stem cell treatment or attendingred carpet events with her shaved head, Lisa, through her life experiences, teachesthe world to shed its inhibitions and find the real ‘self’ to manifest whatseems impossible.

Although I found the book slightly dragged by the end, it’s actually a page turner, even if it’s not a fiction book. That’s simply because Lisa’s life is so real, yet unreal; so intuitive and random, yet cosmically planned; and so inner-oriented, yet extremely candid. I strongly recommend the memoir to all.

Lead a happy life, reading and growing…:)