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Moments in Transition: Stories of Maya and Jeena
Raman reveals the struggle involved in changing nations and keeping heart; she shows us that no culture is isolated from the universal truths of love and loss .—Sylvia E. Halloran, editor, poet, and winner of Barnes and Noble’s Independent Thinking Essay Contest
In this heartfelt collection of twenty-two stories, a mother and daughter slowly begin to understand their different perspectives on life, love, and happiness.
Maya has sacrificed much happiness for her daughter, Jeena. She left India to immigrate to America with her diplomat husband and tried to embrace her new country with open arms. And when tragedy strikes, she strives to make a stable life for her daughter.
Jeena, who straddles the divide of cultural displacement, struggles to reconcile the more common American displays of affection with her traditional mother’s seemingly strict and cold nature. Maybe, Jeena stubbornly thinks, if her mother had kissed her father more, he wouldn’t have left for dangerous places. But Jeena eventually begins to recognize the small, subtle ways her mother made her affection known.
Journey forward and back through the years as Maya and Jeena navigate love, loss, and resolution. It will take two open hearts for these women to close the gap wrought by heritage.
In this heartfelt collection of twenty-two stories, a mother and daughter slowly begin to understand their different perspectives on life, love, and happiness.
Maya has sacrificed much happiness for her daughter, Jeena. She left India to immigrate to America with her diplomat husband and tried to embrace her new country with open arms. And when tragedy strikes, she strives to make a stable life for her daughter.
Jeena, who straddles the divide of cultural displacement, struggles to reconcile the more common American displays of affection with her traditional mother’s seemingly strict and cold nature. Maybe, Jeena stubbornly thinks, if her mother had kissed her father more, he wouldn’t have left for dangerous places. But Jeena eventually begins to recognize the small, subtle ways her mother made her affection known.
Journey forward and back through the years as Maya and Jeena navigate love, loss, and resolution. It will take two open hearts for these women to close the gap wrought by heritage.
- GenresFiction
162 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 2, 2018
124 people want to read
About the author
Neerja Raman
5 books7 followersInternational Book Award Finalist 2019 in category Novella PLUS Best Book 2019 Finalist award: Category Multicultural for Moments in Transition: Stories of Maya and Jeena.
Writer, technologist, and unabashed geek, Neerja Raman has done university research, programmed at small start-ups, and worked as a manager at large corporations. She is a proud mother of three children and a community activist. Her fiction reflects her life experiences stemming from a multicultural background.
Raman's short fiction has been published in various periodicals. Her debut novella, Moments in Transition was awarded Finalist, Best Book of 2019 and International Book award. She received an honorable mention in the Katha Fiction Contest (2017) for her short story "Garden of People." She is also the author of short essays and other nonfiction, as well as "The Practice and Philosophy of Decision Making: A Seven Step Spiritual Guide", available from Amazon.
Raman received her MS in chemistry from SUNY Stony Brook and her MSc from Delhi University. Raman has been inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame.
Raman is an avid hiker and can be found gardening, advocating for women in STEM, or being politically and socially active in women empowerment groups. Sometimes all at the same time!
Writer, technologist, and unabashed geek, Neerja Raman has done university research, programmed at small start-ups, and worked as a manager at large corporations. She is a proud mother of three children and a community activist. Her fiction reflects her life experiences stemming from a multicultural background.
Raman's short fiction has been published in various periodicals. Her debut novella, Moments in Transition was awarded Finalist, Best Book of 2019 and International Book award. She received an honorable mention in the Katha Fiction Contest (2017) for her short story "Garden of People." She is also the author of short essays and other nonfiction, as well as "The Practice and Philosophy of Decision Making: A Seven Step Spiritual Guide", available from Amazon.
Raman received her MS in chemistry from SUNY Stony Brook and her MSc from Delhi University. Raman has been inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame.
Raman is an avid hiker and can be found gardening, advocating for women in STEM, or being politically and socially active in women empowerment groups. Sometimes all at the same time!
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 25, 2018
I received a free copy of this ebook as the winner of a Goodreads giveaway.
Interesting stories that sometimes suffer from the books premise of needing to be tied back to the two central characters, a mother and daughter. I think maybe this would work slightly better marketed as a novel with a non-traditional narrative structure rather than a set of short stories, as I didn’t feel that all of the stories worked standing alone.
Interesting stories that sometimes suffer from the books premise of needing to be tied back to the two central characters, a mother and daughter. I think maybe this would work slightly better marketed as a novel with a non-traditional narrative structure rather than a set of short stories, as I didn’t feel that all of the stories worked standing alone.
July 16, 2018
Goodreads giveaway
January 25, 2022
Witty, poignant and sometimes laugh out loud funny. Sure to make you think. Empowering and a fast read - even if I say so myself!
April 2, 2018
This was a wonderful read
August 8, 2019
I won this book in a giveaway. I thought that the format of a novel-in-stories was an interesting approach. I liked that all the stories were about Maya and Jeena, and the narrative jumping around through time made me stop and think about what I had already learned about this family, almost like a natural reminiscing would. I did think some of the selections were stronger than others. Underneath the Guava Tree made me cry.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews