You’ll remember what happened and how it made you feel. The vulnerability of “The Lucky Ones” by Zara Chowdhary had me looking around to see if anybody noticed me laughing, crying, and clutching my chest while reading. The small personal beauties are what make this memoir special. You feel close to the people in the pages as you ride the waves of their fears and joys. You feel the rumble in your chest of angry mobs shouting for the death of the innocent as you welcome the freedom beat of a Durga dance. You wonder what will become of the barbie doll? You breathe relief when they breathe relief. Chowdhary holds nothing back in rebuilding the images of her life to help readers understand the wider scope of how India treats it’s Muslim citizens. It strikes to the heart in this genocidal moment when we should wonder what is going on in the minds of the young surrounded by death. What do they anchor to? What keeps them from floating away?

Read this book as it is obviously a book written with and full of love.