“Take up a dream and fill every iota of blood and every cell with it then you can achieve it. This should be the purpose of life.”
Excerpt from The Ring by Ashweeni Kumar
I hope everyone had a good Christmas! After the craziness of the holidays, I managed to squeeze in a quick read. Another author reached out to me and kindly asked if I would write a review on my blog after reading his book. Of course I said yes! I try to help out other writers as much as possible, putting good karma out there in hopes someday the favors will be returned. I am nowhere near becoming a published author, and I admire and respect those who are. So, without further ado, here is my review of The Ring, by Ashweeni Kumar.
It’s a very quick read, being just shy of 60 pages on my Kindle app. The story follows the main character, Ravi, while he attempts to chase his dreams and fulfill his destiny. Then life does what life tends to do—get in the way. Ravi is told by a soothsayer his life has a specific purpose which will be revealed to him when he’s older. But will he stay true to the path? He meets a variety of people, travels interesting places, visits historic and religious landmarks, all of which are pointing Ravi in the direction he needs to go. Yet there is the fear we all have—are we really important enough to have a purpose? Is life about chasing crazy dreams? Or is it about trying to keep your head above water, make an income, achieve stability?
The Ring is well written with beautiful descriptive details of the buildings and places Ravi visits. Poetry is interspersed throughout the book and adds to the flow of the story. It is deep, filled with questions, and leaves the reader hopeful. I feel most of us can relate to Ravi, a person who has forgotten his dreams and lost his passion as he simply tries his best to live a decent life and put a roof over his head. Once in a while we all get whispers from our soul and signs from above that something isn’t quite right. We question our purpose and the meaning of life, and want to believe it’s something more than working 40 plus hours a week, cooking, cleaning, running errands, driving here and there, and falling into bed exhausted.
This is the perfect book for me to read as I go through my own journey of following my dream while trying to find the time. It reminds me to not give up. It’s honestly exactly what I need to remind me of my goals and what is important in my life. Finding the time to write was too difficult the last few weeks, getting ready for Christmas and the household falling sick again. So I took a couple of weeks off to focus on everything else. And I think it’s okay to take a break once in a while. But this is also a test for me, because typically once I start writing again and stop for a couple weeks…I stop for years. I lose my focus and drive. I get sucked back into trying to keep my head above water, telling myself I’ll have time to write later instead of making it a priority.
So I am thankful for the book double fold. It’s the type of story I need to stay motivated, and being asked to review it keeps me writing. Ashweeni, thank you for an inspiring story and for giving me a reason to write today. I hope there is more in the works. Obviously, I highly recommend it! It can be found on Amazon and Goodreads.
The Balance Wheel 