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Why Launching My Book Reminded Me of My Child’s First Day At Preschool

It’s not easy to send your book baby out into the world

Ranjani Rao
5 min readOct 20, 2021
Photo credit Ranjani Rao

Last week my book, Rewriting My Happily Ever After — A memoir of divorce and discovery became available to readers everywhere.

As I unwrapped copies of my book on launch day, there was a feeling under my ribs that was a curious mixture of happy butterflies and a quiet sense of accomplishment, with a pinch of anxiety about how my book baby will be received by the world.

The feeling was not unfamiliar. I had felt this way before — as a Ph.D. student preparing for my thesis defence and on the first day of my child’s preschool when I waved to her from the window, leaving her in the hands of teachers who would mould her.

Oh, the places you will go

When I successfully defended my dissertation, it marked the completion of a long period of study and helped me embark on a long, satisfying career that brought me respect, financially supported me, and held me steady when life got tough.

When I dropped my child off that memorable day, I felt a twinge of regret as she held on to my legs begging me to not leave her with strangers. I remained upset all day as I recalled her tear-stained face. But I knew…

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Ranjani Rao
Ranjani Rao

Written by Ranjani Rao

I write insightful personal stories about my scientist, immigrant, travel life. 4 books http://bit.ly/RanjaniRao. Share memoir journey -www.ranjanirao.com

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