JUSTINE HARDY, author of BOLLYWOOD BOY
ISABEL LOSADA, author of THE BATTERSEA PARK ROAD TO ENLIGHTENMENT
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH (Australia)
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After backpacking her way around India, 21-year-old Sarah Macdonald decided that she hated this land of chaos and contradiction with a passion, and when an airport beggar read her palm and insisted she would come back one day - and for love - she vowed never to return.
But twelve years later the prophecy comes true when her partner, ABC's South Asia correspondent, is posted to New Delhi, the most polluted city on earth. Having given up a blossoming radio career in Sydney to follow her new boyfriend to India, it seems like the ultimate sacrifice and it almost kills Sarah - literally. After being cursed by a sadhu smeared in human ashes, she nearly dies from double pheumonia. It's enough to send a rapidly balding atheist on a wild rollercoaster ride through India's many religions in search of the meaning of life and death.
From the 'brain enema' of a meditation retreat in Dharamsala to the biggest Hindu festival on earth on the steps of the Ganges in Varanasi, and with the help of the Dalai Lama, a goddess of healing hugs and a couple of Bollywood stars - among many, many others - Sarah discovers a hell of a lot more.
From the Back Cover
'Well, madam, I will tell you one thing. You are back in India for a good shaking. Here you will dance with death and be reborn. You will be a chameleon of karma...'
After backpacking her way around India, twenty-one-year-old Sarah Macdonald decides she hates the country with a passion. And when a beggar at the airport reads her palm and insists that she will one day return - and for love - she screams 'Never!' and gives India, and him, the finger.
But eleven years later, his prophecy comes true. When the love of her life is posted to India, she leaves her dream job as a radio DJ in Sydney to follow her fiancé to New Delhi, the most polluted city on earth. It seems like the ultimate sacrifice and it almost kills her - literally. One smoggy night, a sadhu smeared in human ashes curses her and she falls dangerously ill with double pneumonia. She survives, but not before she has faced some serious questions about her own mortality and inner spiritual void, not to mention unsightly hair loss.
It's enough to send a rapidly balding atheist on a wild journey through India in search of the meaning of life and death. From spiritual retreats to crumbling nirvanas, war zones and nightclubs, and with the help of the Dalai Lama, a real-life goddess and a couple of Bollywood stars - among many others - Sarah Macdonald discovers a hell of a lot more.
