Book Review – All You Need is Josh
Book title: All You Need is Josh: Inspiring Stories of Courage and Conviction in 21st Century India
Editor: Supriya Paul (Editor)
Publication: Bloomsbury India
Pages: 216
ISBN-10 : 938971429X
Blurb: IN A WORLD FILLED WITH CYNICISM, FEW STAND TALL, CARVING THEIR OWN PATH TO SUCCESS WITH COURAGE, DETERMINATION AND GRIT.
All You Need Is Josh brings to you stories of such unique individuals across India – of the aspiring astrophysicist who wanted to walk on the moon; the first person with a disability to top the civil services examinations; the domestic help who is now a published author; the army officer who amputated his own leg; the transgender woman who was expelled from her house; the Dalit child bride who now runs a business worth Rs 1,000 crore, and many more.
Filled with anecdotes and life-changing missives, these stories will remind you that it does not matter the circumstances into which one is born – what matters most is having the josh to overcome all odds and chase your dreams.
My rating: 4/5
Review: “All you need is Josh” brings out 30 inspiring stories of people across the globe. People who found a platform through Josh Talks. Every story begins with an ordinary background, turning it into an inspiration drawn from their own lives. I happen to read this book at the same time as my manager did. It was a wonderful experience reading this book during the pandemic, as we have been at the lowest sitting in front of our laptops. However, we always kept thinking of people suffering from the deadly virus or migrants walking miles and miles, yet this book was a diversion. A diversion towards a ray of hope, these ordinary stories have given us.
Most of the stories had childhood trauma associated with both genders and even transgender. We live in a cruel society where monsters don’t spare children or even animals. Humans are the worst creatures on the planet. Some of the stories would give you goosebumps; you will judge your existence that you couldn’t save people from bruising childhoods, giving a life-long trauma.
It is tough to choose which one is the best story, each one would be an inspiration to the world.
My personal favorite would be narrowed to Captain Raghu Raman (ex. Indian Army). He has drawn examples from his NDA (National Defence Academy) days to service days. Indian Armed Forces have been always a matter of pride, and valor. The army not only trains cadets to be good soldiers, however it teaches them to be human beings first. Right after Captain Raghu Raman, there is the story of Shyam Sunder Paliwal (sarpanch of Piplantri village), who started a movement of planting trees every time a girl child was born. I am a woman and I understand where this initiative came from. It is an initiative to cut down the negatives existing in our Indian society to date such as acid attacks, rapes, female feticide, and dowry. He lost his own daughter in 2006 ailing to severe stomach pain. He mourned for his loss, when he was reminded of horrific stories of female babies being killed in womb or buried right after their birth. Then, he pledged to transform the barren land. Today, everyone recognizes the village on the map.
“Hell and Heaven are here. How you live is what determines what it is”
Shyam Sunder Paliwal
Thank you Bloomsbury for sending the review copy
Buy Amazon
Review Goodreads
View this post on Instagram__ATA.cmd.push(function() { __ATA.initDynamicSlot({ id: 'atatags-26942-60c25a89589ba', location: 120, formFactor: '001', label: { text: 'Advertisements', }, creative: { reportAd: { text: 'Report this ad', }, privacySettings: { text: 'Privacy', } } }); });A post shared by Nidhi Srivastava (@nidhantrika)
