Priya's World

At twenty-five, Priya a kindergarten teacher must accept the loss of her parents in a plane crash. Her grief plunges her into an eating disorder. While her friends recognize that she is crying out for help, Priya denies it all as she strives to make peace with Renita, her father’s sister—a woman who appears chronically depressed. Unbeknownst to Priya, Renita harbors a disturbing family secret. The story opens with Priya reuniting a lost toddler with his mother during a trip to the mall. A chance meeting with Gabe Johanson, a childhood friend of Priya’s late mother, opens the door to new friendships and even more secrets. While Priya battles her inner demons, she finds herself choosing between two men: Trent Perelli, the handsome young performing arts instructor she meets through a friend and Gabe, compassionate and empowering—but with a past that causes the very mention of his name to rankle the nerves of Priya’s maternal grandparents. The novel deals with the ravages of anorexia and the tyranny of food disorders, as well as the poisonous role that family secrets can play on more than one generation. Throughout her heart-wrenching journey of self-discovery, Priya will lose her health and her family as she knows it, but will ultimately gain self-esteem and the love she has always craved. Through her pain, she will reach out to others in unexpected ways and take bold steps to re-invent her life.