Padma Lakshmi
Born
in Chennai, India
September 01, 1970
Website
Twitter
![]() |
Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir
11 editions
—
published
2013
—
|
|
![]() |
American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures
by
2 editions
—
published
2018
—
|
|
![]() |
Tomatoes for Neela
by
3 editions
—
published
2021
—
|
|
![]() |
How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth
by
6 editions
—
published
2022
—
|
|
![]() |
The Doctor Will See You Now: Recognizing and Treating Endometriosis
by
—
published
2016
|
|
![]() |
Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet: A World of Recipes for Every Day
7 editions
—
published
2007
—
|
|
![]() |
Top Chef: The Quickfire Cookbook
by
4 editions
—
published
2009
—
|
|
![]() |
The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs: An Essential Guide to the Flavors of the World
|
|
![]() |
Easy Exotic: A Model's Low-Fat Recipes from Around the World
2 editions
—
published
1999
—
|
|
![]() |
Padma's All-American
|
|
Related News
Mahogany L. Browne is the author of Chlorine Sky, Woke: A Young Poets Call to Justice, Woke Baby, and Black Girl Magic. She's also the...
29 likes · 5 comments
“In the morning stillness, when the world is just waking up and your conscious mind hasn't fully taken over, you may feel a connection or passageway to another world, and a feeling that something is about to happen in yours. It's like a quiet storm is coming. You can feel the distant rumble of thunder on the horizon, yet you have no idea of the deluge your life is about to experience.”
― Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir
― Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir
“In the car inching its way down Fifth Avenue, toward Bergdorf Goodman and this glamorous party, I looked back on my past with a new understanding. This sickness, the “endo-whatever,” had stained so much—my sense of self, my womanhood, my marriage, my ability to be present. I had effectively missed one week of each month every year of my life since I was thirteen, because of the chronic pain and hormonal fluctuations I suffered during my period. I had lain in bed, with heating pads and hot-water bottles, using acupuncture, drinking teas, taking various pain medications and suffering the collateral effects of them. I thought of all the many tests I missed in various classes throughout my education, the school dances, the jobs I knew I couldn’t take as a model, because of the bleeding and bloating as well as the pain (especially the bathing suit and lingerie shoots, which paid the most). How many family occasions was I absent from? How many second or third dates did I not go on? How many times had I not been able to be there for others or for myself? How many of my reactions to stress or emotional strife had been colored through the lens of chronic pain? My sense of self was defined by this handicap. The impediment of expected pain would shackle my days and any plans I made.
I did not see my own womanhood as something positive or to be celebrated, but as a curse that I had to constantly make room for and muddle through. Like the scar on my arm, my reproductive system was a liability. The disease, developing part and parcel with my womanhood starting at puberty with my menses, affected my own self-esteem and the way I felt about my body. No one likes to get her period, but when your femininity carries with it such pain and consistent physical and emotional strife, it’s hard not to feel that your body is betraying you. The very relationship you have with yourself and your person is tainted by these ever-present problems. I now finally knew my struggles were due to this condition. I wasn’t high-strung or fickle and I wasn’t overreacting.”
― Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir
I did not see my own womanhood as something positive or to be celebrated, but as a curse that I had to constantly make room for and muddle through. Like the scar on my arm, my reproductive system was a liability. The disease, developing part and parcel with my womanhood starting at puberty with my menses, affected my own self-esteem and the way I felt about my body. No one likes to get her period, but when your femininity carries with it such pain and consistent physical and emotional strife, it’s hard not to feel that your body is betraying you. The very relationship you have with yourself and your person is tainted by these ever-present problems. I now finally knew my struggles were due to this condition. I wasn’t high-strung or fickle and I wasn’t overreacting.”
― Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir
“Simply being born female in our society is to grow up being told your worth as a person is tied to how slim and attractive you are. Even for those of us lucky enough to have evolved parents, the message is still driven home by the world at large.”
― Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir
― Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir
Topics Mentioning This Author
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Seasonal Read...:
![]() |
2947 | 505 | May 31, 2016 09:02PM | |
The Seasonal Read...:
![]() |
2625 | 468 | Aug 31, 2016 09:00PM | |
2017 Reading Chal...: * 2016 Checklist Template | 170 | 1035 | Dec 27, 2016 04:56PM | |
The Seasonal Read...:
![]() |
3055 | 681 | Feb 28, 2017 09:01PM | |
Ultimate Popsugar...: A book about food | 189 | 1823 | Nov 30, 2017 03:16PM | |
Book Riot's Read ...: * Read Harder Challenge Plans: 2016 | 287 | 3096 | Dec 19, 2017 10:57AM | |
WACKY READING CHA...: 17X17 Challenge | 333 | 262 | Jul 10, 2019 08:02AM |
Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite Padma to Goodreads.