Lisa Ray Instagram – Posted @withregram • @ilareddy Just finished this honest, beautiful memoir by @lisaraniray My knowledge of showbiz is minimal and I only knew her from the movie ‘Water’, but I’ve been seeing reviews of the book by a few writers I like and I thought I’d read it ‘someday’. My curiosity peaked when I heard her describe herself as a writer first and then an accidental actor on @boundpodcasts I was pleasantly surprised by her writing and closely related to some of her experiences (tryst with buddhism, emotional eating, imposter syndrome, introversion). At the same time, I couldn’t relate to some others, and occasionally got bored in the bits about Bollywood. What I enjoyed the most were her memories from childhood, and the fact that she let the book be so raw and unabashedly herself. I’ve read quite a few cancer memoirs growing up (let’s just say it was a teenage phase) but when it got too real (after losing several friends and relatives to cancer) I limited the books I picked up on the topic. Lisa’s approach towards her illness and becoming a ‘cancer graduate’ is inspiring (and refreshingly different from what I’ve read before)- but this makes up a very small part of the book- which in itself is a reiteration that this experience isn’t what defines her life 🙌🏼 It’s hard to review a book as just a book when it’s an autobiography/memoir, given that everyone’s life experiences and takeaways from it are so personal and contextual. Suffices to say that this book is worth a read and layered with nuggets of wisdom drawn from real life experiences- giving me enough food for thought for a Friday night. #ilasreadinglist #closetothebone #lisaray #bookstagram #memoir #bookreview #fridayreads