Ashes: a story about cigarettes, cremation, and hope

Ashes is a memoir by the firstborn child of Bengali immigrants from Calcutta, India, that brings forth universal life lessons that transcend ethnicity. With raw honesty and simple prose, Ms. Mukherji depicts her childhood of cultural confusion, schoolyard bullies, and the demands of her brilliant, abusive alcoholic father. She offers her mother's stoic wisdom and love for all to share. By her early 20s, Ms. Mukherji seeks clarity instead of pity and details her search for herself through ps...