The Truth About You

"The Truth About You" is my second wary attempt at Susan Lewis's writing. 

This was a much more interesting and engaging read for me. Lainey Hollingsworth is the wife of a fairly successful writer. She manages her husband's writing career, takes care of her family, which includes a rebellious daughter, a stepson who seems to blame her for disrupting his family and an adoptive father who is suffering from Alzheimer's.

The book explores so many relationships between the main characters. Lainey seemed to have a volatile relationship with her mother who has fled from Italy to England while Lainey was in infant. While Lainey loves her step father and takes care of him, she longs to know about her past and her biological father, and the secrets that her mother fled from.

As Lainey plans a visit to dig out the truth's from her mother's past, she is confronted with another demon from her current life. She is caught unawares as her husband drops a bombshell which shatters her trust in her husband and their marriage.

She is caught between the secrets of her past and the troubles in her current marital bliss, as she struggles to face and figure out who she is, the reality she must live in and the choices she needs to make.

"The Truth About You" was engrossing even though it didn't make me think or contemplate too much after the story for completed. I would give this a rating of 3.5~4 on 5.

The Good Life

"The Good Life" by Susan Kietzman is another of my new finds. An author I have never read before, I understand that she has completed 3 books till date.

"The Good Life" focuses on a super rich family and their life. 

Ann Barons is a glamorous lady married to successful businessman and CEO Mike. Their two children are Lauren and Nate.  The book is the story of the Baronses and their life.

Ann Barons comes across as a person who is obsessed with her looks and maintaining her figure. She spends her days working out, meeting friends and shopping. Mike seems like a nice guy, but fully involved in his business and nothing else. The first glance also shows the kids as spoilt brats of rich parents.

Ann and Mike believe they have the perfect life. Their idyll is threatened by a phone call when Ann's mother calls her desperate for help. Ann's mother, Eileen, struggles alone with her husbands dementia and Is increasingly finding it difficult to handle Sam's delusions and forgetfulness. She arranges for them to get accommodated at Meadowbrook, an assisted-living community. However, they need to wait for a few months before they can move into Meadowbrook.

Eileen requests Ann if they can move in for a few months with Ann and her family. Ann who doesn't want her current life to disrupted also finds to difficult to say 'No'. Ann soon begins to resent her mother's presence and the changes it causes in her life. She feels that her mothers presence highlights her failings.

I liked the story and the way each character developed in the book. Initially, I was a bit put-off by the lack of feeling and irritation tht the entire family showed at the news of Eileen's and Sam's brief stay. The book showcases Ann as a superficial person who is only interested in shopping, showing off her money and losing weight. She comes across as materialistic and highly selfish person who is only concerned about herself and no one else including her own children.

The entire family seemed to be disconnected and living in a home like strangers till the arrival for Eileen and Sam. While Eileen in certain instances seems to be a bit thick-skinned, her interference and nature of elbowing into the Baronses house, seems to have been the one thing that made this family of four strangers a bit more closer and more family-like.

The kids, Lauren and Nate grow on you, as they spend time, learn and do things with their grandparents. Even Mike, the workaholic finds time to spend dome fun moments with his children. The issues that Ann faces are not fully resolved but at least she realized that she has issues.

"The Good Life" was a satisfying read and beautifully written. It was difficult for me to really absorb that in the complexities and trivialities of life, so much distance can crop up between families, between parents and their children. In this case, the distance in the relationship of Ann with her parents and of Nate and Lauren with their parents.

Another aspect that I liked about the story was that it touched lightly upon the concept of "Good Life". While Ann believes she has a good life, the reader can understand that though she has money there are too many underlying issues and dissatisfaction. In fact, it seems as though, through money Ann is trying to prove to herself that life is good and she is satisfied with life. But towards the end of the book, she understands that she is not fully happy and that she needs to find the balance she is looking for.

I wasn't very happy with the way the book ended. It left me a bit unsatisfied and I wasn't ready to let go of Nate and Lauren. So I would have to give a rating of 4 on 5 for "The Good Life"

A Class Apart

'A Class Apart' is written by Susan Lewis and features four powerful, desirable and supposedly enviable women.

Each of these ladies have glamorous jobs in media, theatre  and  publishing. This book is all about their friendship and a dark secret that each of them has.

This is the first time I have read the work of Susan Lewis and for me this has been a disappointing start.

The story, though revolving around the lives of four women and their lives seemed a tad too unrealistic, in my opinion. I had to force myself to read till the end. It was difficult to believe that all four women would reach the crisis point in their problems all on the same day and at the same point of time.

So I would give a 2 on 5 for "A Class Apart". Going to try another book by Susan Lewis as some of her other books seem to have fared better on Goodreads.

Gone Girl

This book was my introduction to the world and writing of Gillian Flynn, an American writer.

I has been hearing a lot of hype over the movie and wanted to catch it TV. That's when someone told me that it was based on a book and then I found myself wanting to read the book rather than watch the movie.

I managed to get my hands on the book and found myself turning the pages...Here's my two cents on 'Gone Girl'.

A thriller novel that starts slow and then suddenly plunges you into a world of uncertainty, confusion and lots of suspense.  The novel's is based on the main character, Nick Dunne, his missing wife Amy Dunne, and their rocky marriage.

The first half of the novel is narrated in the first person by both Nick and Amy. We have Nick's thoughts and perspectives from the present and glimpse Amy's thoughts through her journal entries. While Nick discovers that Amy is missing and find things strewn over, he worries and contacts the police never suspecting that he would become the main suspect.

The first half of the novel just slides through presenting to the reader two different views. While Nicks thoughts showcase Amy to be sullen, anti-social and stubborn, her own journal entries show her to be happy, friendly and a adjusting person.

While the police hunt out clues to try and trace Amy, all roads and clues point to Nick. The fact that Nick starts his business from Amy's money, the fact that he increased her insurance, and his tactless behavior in front of the media makes him the easy target.

Just as you nod to yourself and begin to say, 'Okay, he definitely did or did not kill her...' that you find the story going on a different tangent.

The second half of the book reveals to the reader many lies and nuggets of information that throws a totally different picture. To say more would probably be a spoiler for my readers…

So all I can say is...The second half leaves you with a kind of incredulity and amazement in terms of how people can turn out to be, how weird relationships can become and the unexpected ending of the book.

'Gone Girl' is not just any thriller, it is a psychological thriller that grips you by the throat and keeps you on the toes while you keep guessing on how it ends.

When the book ended, the first thought on my mind was 'You can't be kidding! It's over...What???'.

Though I was hurrying and rushing through to finish the book and know the ending, I was almost disappointed when it finished.

So go read the book if you haven't read it already and get thrilled….

That Night...

There was nobody at home but me. It was night and they were yet to return. I was fighting off sleep and trying to keep myself awake.

The phone rang once and by the time I picked up the landline, the line went dead.

I glanced at the clock, for it was late. Just as I glanced up, the clock struck 12'. I glanced at the clock and then at the door.

"Why on earth were they so late? Why was the mobile not reachable?"

I glanced back at the book but the silence seemed to resound too loudly. Not liking the silence around me, I decided to put on the TV.

I switched it on ,only to find a blank screen. The silence seemed to mock at time. I began to remember the horror movies   I had seen. An unexplainable fear began to assail me.

I began chanting all prayers that I knew in my head and headed for the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.

I stepped into the  kitchen and grabbed the door of the fridge. I pulled hard but the door refused to open. It seemed as though someone was pulling it from inside.

Shaken, I quickly left the fridge and made my way back.

On the way, my glance fell on the mirror and my reflection in it. I looked different and something seemed to be changing . I could feel a figure looming behind me. It seemed to slowly creep forward.

I made a dash back into the kitchen. There was a puddle of water on the floor. I slipped, fell and hit my head on the floor.

Thud.

With my hand on my head and with a groan, I groggily opened my eyes.

It was a dream. I had fallen off the sofa. Shaken by the dream, I sat back on the sofa and tried to calm my racing heart.

The phone rang and I rushed to pick it up, hoping they were on the way. But by the time I reached there, the line went dead.

I returned and just as I glanced at the clock, and  the clock struck 12'....

De'javu or was it?

HR Musings - Boss Day

"Every year, this day, the world rallies around  to recognize those in supervisory positions.

This year let's join them, as we give our bosses a pat on the back, a candid feedback and a tribute for all those hard decisions made..."

This is the mail that we sent out on the 15th of October, this year at Kancor.

A year ago, when my Boss passingly mentioned about a Day called the Boss' Day, we were too caught up with other things to spend time and think about this concept.

This year, with a team to support me, and with the fact that we could squeeze in some time to think of doing something, we tried to out our thinking caps.

Every year, every month, every day, every second and every moment, we work on different things for each of our organizations. We do things to achieve our goals, to fulfill our passions and also to bring home to the table the money required. And amidst all this, we expect that the hard work we put in, the hours we pulled off, the effort and the results of those efforts be appreciated by our bosses.

So we thought…

Why not set aside a day, to return the same to the bosses…

Why not let them know they have done a good job…

Why not let them receive a candid feedback…

Why not give them a pat on their back...

That's when we decided to send this mail informing people about bosses day. This spark arising from one mail triggered many mails from individuals to their bosses…

Is that it?

Well, that's not all….

We had some custom made gifts like trophies, plaques and posters for each boss with either the names or the photographs of their team members. We had mini huddles arranged on another day, in which each team or cascade of managers from one team got together and had a mini time together. This meeting was one were the team got together, gave a small token to the manager and anonymous slips of paper which gave feedback to the manager on things that they liked in him/her and the change that the manager could perhaps consider.

These meetings and feedbacks were not limited to a location or a grade. These meetings transcended 5 locations and started at the MD level and ended at the executive level.

Jayamohan and his Team

Shaju and his Team

Though hectic, it was a good day. The best was the feeling of oneness with the team that put in so much effort to make this possible, despite the many obstacles that we faced.

Kudos to my team of Office - Deepa, Jeevan, Kurien, Jayesh, Joseph,  Saran and the rest of the team - You guys encourage me to plough ahead with these activities.

Let's keep spreading the smile and joy!!! :)

HR Musings - Monday Musings

One of the first initiatives of the Weavers team was to kick off the Monday Musings.

This team has been relentlessly working for more than 8 weeks now, and creates a sense of having something to look forward to every Monday. This can be a perk-me up or a thoughtful quote, a motivating or a awakening video or even an interesting article that the team wishes to share.

With different things being cooked up by the team and suggestions pouring in from employees, it has been a nice experience so far.

One activity, that jumps to my mind was the one where every employee, had to take a chit of paper from near the punching machine, as they walked in to office. Now this activity was after a long weekend where I am sure many had not yet gotten over their holiday moods.

Well, each slip of paper contained a quote and a question. The question was a though provoking one where the question in each slip required us to think of our fellow employees and consider who would fit the bill for the attribute mentioned in the quote/question.  We then had to hand over this slip to them.

I found myself getting a slip with a quote on Friendliness and a question that required me to handover the slip to the friendliest person at work. It was not a very easy decision to make and did require me to think deeply on this.

On the other hand, I received 3 slips from three different people and it made my day and surprised me as well.

We had around 80 different quotes and 7 different attributes  floating around.  So people were on the look-out for Friendliest People, Well Dressed People, Energetic People and so on.

This activity spanned 5 locations across Kancor and would not have been possible without the people who were determined to make it happen.

With the hope and the belief that this activity might have made a impact on at least one person or brought a smile to at least one person, I sign off…

Before I take bow, just wanted to use this also as a forum to raise my hats off to the team that makes this and other things possible every Monday.  Guys, you know yourselves, but even then, take a bow for the world to see -  Joseph, Elma, Leeba, Ramesh, Sooraj

You guys are a rock for sparing time every week for coming up with something new, for pushing on regardless of who is there or who is not. It's great to know and see the difference we make. Let's make many more Happy Monday's… :)

I should also probably give my Thanks to 'Anita' from SunTec , who introduced me to the phrase  - 'Happy Mondays'.