An inspiring memoir of faith, courage, and resilience against life’s harshest trials.
Once upon a time, there was a young girl who, like millions of other girls her age, had dreams in her eyes. Her parents called her Charulata, but to her friends and the wider world, she was known as Charu.
Raised in a beautiful home in Malabar Hill, one of India’s most exclusive and prestigious residential districts in South Mumbai, she often gazed at the Arabian Sea, dreaming of her future. Naturally caring, she was sometimes teased by her sister and friends for being overly emotional and easily moved by others’ pain. At a very young age, she developed a deep faith in God. Later, when facing challenges that might have overwhelmed most, she persevered. Her faith in God remained unwavering.
This book is her extraordinary story of living with a debilitating disease that immobilised her, but could not break her spirit.
Publisher: Rupa Publications India (24 May 2025)
Language: English
Hardcover, 192 pages
She fell in love while still at university and married the man of her dreams. That alone was an adventure. Her husband was a man any woman would envy, shaped in the image of Bollywood heroes: caring, loving, empathetic, and very attentive to her needs. She could not have asked for more. She was living the fairy-tale life, and she was the princess. Then, when only 20 years old, life dealt her a cruel blow.
Faced with medical issues, she underwent a series of tests that revealed she had muscular dystrophy. This very rare condition causes the muscular system to deteriorate and is incurable. It is hard to comprehend the extent of suffering caused by such a disease. Writing in the foreword to her book, Hrithik Roshan states that he has lived that life through a movie of his, Guzaarish. But while he captured that experience in three hours of screen time, she has lived this life for nearly forty years.
This book, then, is Charu’s story, a tale of unwavering faith, love, and sacrifice in the face of overwhelming odds. Twenty is too young an age to be told that one has an incurable, debilitating medical condition. But Charu and her husband Sunil were forged of sterner stuff, unshaken by the trials that broke others. They refused to give in. They refused to let such a debilitating condition alter the course of their lives. Nor did they allow this condition to shake their faith in God.
“Why me?” she says, was a question that repeatedly circled in her mind. Yet, through faith, the answer was also revealed: “If not you, then who?” Truly, the will of the Creator is unfathomable. The grit, courage and determination that Charu and her husband have shown would make any soldier proud. Both of them are truly extraordinary individuals.
Charu speaks of her journey in search of a cure, with a wry sense of humour and with unflinching honesty. She travelled the world in search of a cure, but none was found. When one is so afflicted, people turn to sources that they would never turn to in the normal course. This included faith healers and godmen. One of them even recommended offering alcohol to the Gods on the specious logic that God would then be too drunk to take any notice of them! But the cure remained elusive.
A poignant moment in her story is the birth of their son. The joy the couple felt when their son was born and the love and care Charu lavished on him, despite her physical condition, would make any mother proud. And then, when the boy was still in his teens, he passed away to another incurable illness. Her husband gave his kidney to his son, which extended his life by a few years, but eventually, their happiness was stolen from them. They endured that pain too.
As the muscles in her body began to waste away, she was confined to a wheelchair. However, that did not prevent her from supervising activities in her house, though it did limit her travel plans, but not by much. Despite the physical challenges she faced and continues to face, nothing could dampen her spirit. Today, she lies immobile in bed, barely able to move, and that too with support, but her spirit remains free. That is the lesson this book imparts.
This is a tale of exceptional grit and courage. She told her story, word by word, page by page, in her weakened and debilitated condition to her friend, who transcribed it. Thus, we have this remarkable story of a mother’s love, her faith, and resilience.
It is a story of living life to the fullest, without bitterness or angst, despite facing daily the harshest of medical challenges. And it is a story of love and compassion—a story of a caring and loving husband and a supportive, loving family. When families are so bonded, truly miracles can occur. While Charu did not experience a miracle cure, her life over these past decades has been truly miraculous.
This book serves as a lesson in perseverance and the power of love to cope with the hand that life deals us. Her endurance is a beacon of hope, and her life a symbol of the unbreakable human spirit. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to people of all ages. It will help them face life’s challenges with calmness and grace.
