About the Book

When she was very young, Baby Halder was abandoned by her mother and left with a cruel, abusive father. She was married off at twelve to a man twice her age who beat her. At fourteen, she was a mother herself. Her early life was marked by overwhelming challenges and heartbreak until, exhausted and desperate, she fled with her three children to Delhi, to work as a maid in some of the city's wealthiest homes. Expected to serve her employers' every demand, she faced a staggering workload that often left her no time to care for her own children. But she never complained, for such is the lot of the poor in modern-day India.

Written without a trace of self-pity, A Life Less Ordinary is a shocking look deep inside a world of poverty and subjugation that few outsiders know about—and an inspiring true story of one remarkable woman's strength, courage, and determination to soar above her circumstances.

Critical Praise

“An Indian Angela’s Ashes . . . A moving depiction of life for millions of imporverished Indian women.” — New York Times

“Both a societal and literary fence-breaker . . . Truly this is a story of courage under fire.” — The Hindu, India

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Resources

• Sample Embed

Product Details

• ISBN: 9780061373985
• ISBN 10: 0061373982
• Imprint: Harper Perennial
• On Sale: 06/17/2008
• Pages: 192
• List Price:17.50 CAD
• BISAC1 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Lawyers & Judges
• BISAC2 : POLITICAL SCIENCE / Women in Politics
• BISAC3 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Women
• BISAC4 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs

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