Bluebells
Author | : Sophia Devasahayam |
Publisher | : Strategic Book Publishing |
Total Pages | : 119 |
Release | : 2013-06 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781618976604 |
ISBN-13 | : 1618976605 |
Rating | : 4/5 (04 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: Bluebells by Sophia Devasahayam is a collection of autobiographical recollections of encounters and events that left their imprint on her life and personality, and the lessons learned. The author is the daughter of Christian evangelists who worked in South India. They chose to live and work among social outcasts, commercial sex workers, and antisocial elements to make them embrace a life of spirituality. Her parents believed in voluntary austerity, hard physical work, and long hours of prayer. Sophia's childhood was an offbeat one, where self-denial and discipline was a way of life, and was marked by an absence of material comforts that most children enjoy. Sophia's essays are not recollections of rapturous moments in tranquility as William Wordsworth would have written, but are narrations of painful or traumatic occurrences when she was mentally exhausted due to long hours of study for her doctoral dissertation. Recollections of significant events from her childhood have helped her arrive at a deeper understanding of herself. Bluebells is a series of essays combining the lyricism of a poet with the analytical quality of a researcher. They move beyond the personal to offer a message of positive living through fostering values. Her essays and beautiful poetry go beyond narration to examine what moulded her character. Biblical allusions and literary references help reinforce her observations about the universal aspects of human nature.