Angie
Proceed With Caution:
This book contains an overdose and possible suicide attempt.
The Basics:
Grown-Up Pose is all about Anu, a thirty-year-old woman who is sick of being the responsible good girl who only takes care of her family. She doesn't want to become her mother or mother-in-law or any typical, Indian housewife. She's been separated from her husband for a year, dating a new man, and found a nice yoga studio. But Anu needs to find herself.
My Thoughts:
Grown-Up Pose simply made me happy. The book isn't 100% sunshine and rainbows (that CW, obviously) but I could relate so hard to Anu. I may not be married or a mother or Indian, but we're both thirty and still finding our way. And we both love yoga and played with the possibility of yoga teacher training and traveling the world attending yoga retreats! But most importantly, we're adults who aren't quite grown-up, whatever that means.
Grown-Up Pose is a personal journey for Anu and I was glad I got to take it with her. She's having trouble with dating. Experiencing her first one-night stand and venture into online dating, and also reconciling her lingering feelings for her husband. She's also learning to stand up to her mother-in-law and own parents, something that simply isn't done in her culture. And she's finally realizing her long lost dream of opening a yoga studio. It's not an easy journey, but it's a necessary one.
I also adored seeing Anu's friendships. The old and the new. She has two best friends, Jenny and Monica, who are there for her through everything. Sometimes they tell her things that she doesn't want to hear but needs to. She also makes a new friend in Imogen, who works at the yoga studio Anu winds up purchasing. Imogen is a troubled young woman, and I'm glad that Anu didn't let their age difference get in the way of being there for her when she desperately needed it.
I just really enjoyed Grown-Up Pose. This is the kind of Women's Fiction that I love. It didn't feel pretentious or boring or overly privileged. Anu is facing real problems that anyone can relate to. We've all had a time where we questioned what the heck we're doing with our lives. Of course, not all of us have left our husband and jumped a last minute flight to London either.
