Doctor turns to fiction writing

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Parul Mehta Patel has a master’s and a doctorate in Marriage and Family Therapy, as well as a Master’s degree in Human Development. All from American higher-education institutions. So perhaps it’s not surprising that her experience in dealing with the complexity of human relationships would develop into a desire to write about a subject she deals with on a daily basis.

That is the story of “Meera” Patel’s debut novel about a character whose childhood crush in India turns in adulthood, into an adulterous relationship in the U.S. It encompasses all the human emotions entailed in a coming of age story that grows to become about marriage, love, fidelity, passion and compassion, betrayal, remorse, and forgiveness.

The Story

Five-year-old Meera is sweetly heartbroken when the focus of her innocent crush, nineteen-year-old Ari moves overseas. But Ari soon becomes a faint memory as Meera immerses herself in a world of family, friends and the business of growing up – sadly, that includes trauma that no child should ever face.

Treading through betrayals and loyalties, discovering secrets and creating some of her own, Meera grows into a young woman. She marries and moves to New York with her adoring husband, Neel. But Meera and Ari’s paths cross once again after two decades apart, and this time their relationship goes way beyond a childhood crush.

Meera’s marriage goes through a trial by fire that leads her to a therapist’s couch, and to uncover long buried truths. Meanwhile, her family in India must deal with crises and needs her more than ever. Meera is tested as a sister, a daughter, a lover, a friend, a wife.

The Author

Born in Jaipur, Patel grew up in Delhi and Mumbai, with a love for the creative arts, writing poetry since she was a child, painting, and Indian classical singing. Her parents encouraged her love of reading by filling he home with books.

Patel earned her Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and Economics from Bombay University, following it with a stint in journalism for Cine Blitz magazine, until she moved to the United States, where she pursued her degrees in therapy. Patel currently is in private practice and lives with her husband and daughter in California.