Delhi I really am fond of you. We have a beautiful relationship: memories of picnics in Lodhi Gardens, walks around Humayan’s Tomb, foggy mornings populated by a Muezzin’s prayer call, spirits and the past closing in like deep, soothing waters. Friends and refined conversations in the shadow of marbled grandeur and archways. Full blooded North Indian embraces and shots of whiskey. And I don’t want to break up with you, I really don’t. But just because a blue sky showed up after many days of apocalyptic haze doesn’t mean the reckoning is over. The unexamined traditions, the decisions and choices made by those in power, the twisted storylines informed by greed, or selfishness or apathy that led you to the edge of an environmental crisis has to be addressed. Please. Our children’s lungs and future depend on it.
Repost from @tweakindia using @RepostRegramApp – “We almost divorced at one point—until we realised we have to change the way we communicate. Words matter. They can cut and sting and soothe. So we said to each other: it’s not whether this can work or not, it’s how can we make it work?” reveals Lisa Ray.
We want to know how you overcame the hurdles that came in the way of your marriage. Tell us in the comments below.
Head to the LINK IN BIO to read the full story.
Photo: @lisaraniray / Instagram
More of this laugh riot coming soon…a shoot to remember with some winsome and wise souls. Colaba Causeway
@bharattiwariphotography #sahityaaajtak19 #readingmatters #booksmatter Delhi, India
Ready for my session @blrlitfest with @mraozing
Wearing @raw_mango
Styled by @dipikablacklist
MUH @sabrina_suhail
#ClosetotheBone @harpercollinsin
Ready for @blrlitfest in @raw_mango
Styled by @dipikablacklist
MUH @sabrina_suhail
The bibliophile bombs of #BarelyLiterate invited me to speak to their book club about #ClosetotheBone and I swear it was the most penetrating discussion I’ve had so far. The food was delicious, the rossogollas particularly spongy and each of these fab women has left an imprint. I was particularly moved (and amused) when told: ‘you know, I really didn’t want to read your book at first, but once I started I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of writing and then hooked by the story…this is no typical celebrity memoir’ I get it. I really do get it. #ClosetotheBone is a travelogue of the soul but it seems there’s no category for this brand of book…yet.
Thanks @aartisethikhanna – my old compatriot – for making this happen. Until the next book ladies…keep reading and keep being your fabulous, articulate selves ✌🏼
Thank you @blrlitfest and readers for your support and enthusiasm 🙏🏼
Styled by @dipikablacklist
Wearing @raw_mango
MUH @sabrina_suhail
#ClosetotheBone @harpercollinsin The Lalit Ashok Bangalore
High voltage excitement here @blrlitfest on the lush grounds of the @thelalitgroup
It’s a privilege to be here for #closetothebone and to be surrounded by the tender might of words and writers.
Wearing @raw_mango
Styled by @dipikablacklist
@harpercollinsin @jayapriyavasudevan The Lalit Ashok Bangalore
Writers supporting other writers on that harrowing, existential, dread-filled journey to offering up a book to the world, is a very particular tribe. While we often behave as islanders, there is a kindness greater than solitude on the writing journey, and that’s the company of ‘those who know’. I had the great pleasure of lunching with two exciting new voices; @messycooking_alwaysvegan whose book #TheBodyMyth captivated me on so many levels and Kenyan talent @shirokoinange whose book #TheHavocofChoice is creating buzz on the eve of its launch. I have so much admiration for these women and can’t wait for our next saucy and spirited meet.
With the gorgeous @bhavz15 at last night’s @canadainindia event for #ClosetotheBone
Repost from @jasvinderkaur1979 using @RepostRegramApp – Change is the one constant…is my takeaway from very beautiful and inspirational @lisaraniray #closetothebone
Wearing @goodearthindia
Earrings @teatrodhora
Books, books, books! Read all about it! My gleeful smile says it all. What a privilege to be in the midst of lit fest season, connecting with readers, writers, bibliophiles and words all over India 🇮🇳 #ClosetotheBone #sahityaaajtak19
MUH @kiran_chhetri92
This makes my heart smile ever so wider Repost from @walkingbookfairs using @RepostRegramApp – Read. More. Women ✊🏽
.
All of these fabulous must read books by brilliant women that you all have been waiting to read, now at #buy1get1free at our bookstore #readmorebooks SALE 💥
.
@harpercollinsin
@sharanya_manivannan
@swarupshubhangi
@lisaraniray
.
Come, grab your copies now!
Limited time offer only. Read more. Shop Independent.
.
#walkingbookfairs #independentbookstore #bookshop #lovebooks #readingrevolution #readmorewomen #supportindependentbookstores #bookstoresarethebest
That’s a wrap on @blrlitfest
“I’ve been having a secret love affair with life, you see, and nobody will ever know. I’ve been intimate with the plates and spoons, with the washing up liquid, with the bath tub and the cleaning products, with the sound of my friend’s voice and the sunlight streaming in from the kitchen window. I’ve been intimate with the carpet, with the walls, with the oven and the fridge, with the toilet and the phone and the cute little spider I found crawling up the side of the radiator. Nobody can take this intimacy away from me. Nobody. No power in the world can threaten it. It’s my little secret that isn’t really a secret at all. It is life itself, and it is always right here.” ~ Jeff Foster
Jeff Foster was born in 1980 in London, England. He studied Astrophysics at Cambridge University. At this time he was overwhelmed by feelings of despair and loneliness, which eventually led to physical illness and a personal breakdown soon after graduation. He was convinced he was going to die. Foster returned to live with his parents, reading and studying for a year on spirituality, searching for relief from his depression. This ended in 2006 with the dissolution of the sense of separation, which he understood to be a spiritual awakening: “As the story goes, I was walking through the rain on a cold Autumn evening in Oxford. The sky was getting dark; I was wrapped up warm in my new coat. And suddenly and without warning, the search for something more apparently fell away, and with it all separation and loneliness.
And with the death of separation, I was everything that arose: I was the darkening sky, I was the middle aged man walking his golden retriever, I was the little old lady hobbling along in her waterproofs […] I was the raindrops falling on my head (although it was not my head, I did not own it, but it was undeniably there, and so to call it “my head” is as good as anything).” He has written many many inspiring books thereafter. Absolute thanks Samuel Long 💜. Photo via the awesome Zeynep N. Uslu💜
This bone truth was posted by #SukeshMotwani someone I had the pleasure of meeting on a retreat led by @mishtickle recently.
In honour of a spate of wonderful events celebrating #ClosetotheBone in #Delhi, everyone’s favourite bookstore @bahrisons_booksellers has fresh stock. Head to Khan market to get your copy from this iconic establishment.
Let me now take this opportunity to emphasize what #ClosetotheBone is NOT:
It’s not a cancer memoir
It’s not a celebrity autobiography
It’s not a self-help book
It’s not been written to appeal to any particular audience, mainly because I write to understand myself.
.
If you strapped me down and asked me to define my writing debut, I will say: to make the choices you want and pay the price for them is a blessing though the world will have you believe otherwise. That is the essence of my story.
And humour. Always irony and humour. . .
‘Laugh in the face of adversity,’ said Ricky Gervais, ‘and you’ll be bulletproof.’
#ClosetotheBone @harpercollinsin Bahrisons Booksellers
Repost from @sripeepul using @RepostRegramApp – Where do I belong? @lisaraniray answers with a “purposefully nomadic” lifestyle, and I can so relate to my dear friend’s journey – an identity purely married to one’s idea, rather than provenance. When maccher jhol meets croissant, it makes for a vibrant and optimistic pot pourri 😁 #closetothebone to me is about exactly this. @lisaraniray come to delhi again soon 💕 #nowreading #closetothebone #motivation #inspiration #bookstagram
See you #Bangalore for @blrlitfest on November 10th!
Particularly looking forward to being in conversation with @mraozing an author I greatly admire
Humbled by these words from an author I deeply admire ❤️ Repost from @sharanya_manivannan using @RepostRegramApp – This inspiring manifesto, from near the end of @lisaraniray’s incredible memoir, #CloseToTheBone. So full of heart, spirit, clarity – reading it made me feel centred, grounded, recommitted to my own journey in a powerful way.
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#bookstagram #selflove #readwriteunite #authorsofinstagram #LisaRay #igersindia #bookish #wordstoliveby
Repost from @messycooking_alwaysvegan using @RepostRegramApp – The universe has been kind to my bollywood loving heart. But it’s more. Today i had a long lunch with @lisaraniray and this fabulous new Kenyan author @shirokoinange she introduced me too. We three are from very different, very diverse worlds, but so many shared values and open vulnerabilities. If you have not read Lisa’s memoir Close to the Bone, pick it up or borrow it, it deviates from all the sterotypes you think a celebrity memoir is, it’s open to her sorrows, fights , romances and her struggle with cancer. It’s so honest that i almost wish it wasn’t marketed as a celebrity autobiography, because there is zero bullshit propaganda.
Also, @shirokoinange’s book is called The Havoc of Choice and it has literally just released in India, please look out for it.
#women #thefutureisfemale #womeninarts
#womenwriters #authorlife #writercommunity #bollywood #love #closetothebone #thehavocofchoice #thebodymyth #authorsofinstagram #booksmatter #bookshelf #bookrecommendations #bangalore #blf #india #nairobi #africanwriters #kenyanwriters #indianwriters #fiction2019 #memoir #readersofinstagram
Thank you @mraozing
Your presence made all the difference.
@blrlitfest #closetothebone @harpercollinsin The Lalit Ashok Bangalore
Boosting cultural diplomacy & creating awareness on women’s health: Delighted to have Indo-Canadian actress, model and author
@Lisaraniray
discuss her book #CloseToTheBone in conversation with
@aindrila
at Canada House, Delhi. HT
@HarperCollinsIN @canadainindia
See you soon #Bangalore
@blrlitfest @mraozing @harpercollinsin @jayapriyavasudevan
![Lisa Ray Instagram - “I’ve been having a secret love affair with life, you see, and nobody will ever know. I’ve been intimate with the plates and spoons, with the washing up liquid, with the bath tub and the cleaning products, with the sound of my friend’s voice and the sunlight streaming in from the kitchen window. I’ve been intimate with the carpet, with the walls, with the oven and the fridge, with the toilet and the phone and the cute little spider I found crawling up the side of the radiator. Nobody can take this intimacy away from me. Nobody. No power in the world can threaten it. It’s my little secret that isn’t really a secret at all. It is life itself, and it is always right here." ~ Jeff Foster Jeff Foster was born in 1980 in London, England. He studied Astrophysics at Cambridge University. At this time he was overwhelmed by feelings of despair and loneliness, which eventually led to physical illness and a personal breakdown soon after graduation. He was convinced he was going to die. Foster returned to live with his parents, reading and studying for a year on spirituality, searching for relief from his depression. This ended in 2006 with the dissolution of the sense of separation, which he understood to be a spiritual awakening: "As the story goes, I was walking through the rain on a cold Autumn evening in Oxford. The sky was getting dark; I was wrapped up warm in my new coat. And suddenly and without warning, the search for something more apparently fell away, and with it all separation and loneliness. And with the death of separation, I was everything that arose: I was the darkening sky, I was the middle aged man walking his golden retriever, I was the little old lady hobbling along in her waterproofs [...] I was the raindrops falling on my head (although it was not my head, I did not own it, but it was undeniably there, and so to call it "my head" is as good as anything)." He has written many many inspiring books thereafter. Absolute thanks Samuel Long 💜. Photo via the awesome Zeynep N. Uslu💜 This bone truth was posted by #SukeshMotwani someone I had the pleasure of meeting on a retreat led by @mishtickle recently.](https://www.gethucinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/LisaRay-1550-150x150.jpg)
