The Hangover of Choices

Book excerpt: Nidhi Verma, finds herself having an extraordinary experience, whilst she is on her death bed under unexpected circumstances. As the doctors work furiously to identify the underlying causes that led to her sudden collapse, her mind starts to take a walk down memory lane, to find its own reasons. With each increasing dosage of medication, she slips deeper and deeper into the storehouse of her memories, many of which she had kept carefully buried. She desperately tries to shut them out, but one unwanted scene continues to play after another. She is forced to now watch the movie of her entire life, only this time, as a viewer and not the actor. Each vision raises uncomfortable questions and reveals aspects of her personality that she had denied. Forced to now confront issues related to her forgotten sexuality, jealously and the complicated relationships with her best friend, Ziya and husband, Kumar, Nidhi begins to see herself in a new light. As illusions start to fade, she is keen to live a more authentic life and become a better version of herself, while equally embracing her flaws and vulnerabilities, knowing none of these define her. The question remains- Will she make it alive to life differently? The Hangover of Choices is an engaging story, which will surely make the readers ask- If I was on my deathbed, what would I see?