Made out of Stars

Name of the Book: Made out of Stars

Author: Meera Lee Patel

Publisher: Particular Books

Questions are good because they lead to answers. ‘Made out of Stars’ by Meera Lee Patel is a journal that can take the reader from the path of obscurity to clarity through a series of pithy questions. These questions make the reader introspect and realize that there is magic within each; what prevents it from blooming is the want of self-realization. The questions are myriad and each of them compels the reader to view himself/herself as someone valuable and capable. Perhaps, this power of the book almost makes it a beautiful miracle.

The colorful illustrations that accompany the questions are a treat to the eyes. Made with water-colors, every illustration has a quotation by a renowned author. The quotation forms the basis of the question framed.

One of the purposes of the book is to make the reader feel connected with the universe and realize that one is made up of the same star-stuff. ‘What makes you feel connected to…the human race?’; ‘What makes you connected to… a person you feel distant from?’ Inclusive questions such as these make the reader feel closer to the world around them. They intend to dissolve the shadows of boundaries (within and without). The author says: “Feeling connected to the world begins by nurturing the connection you have with yourself.”

This is a quirky book that could be used to brighten up one in solitude or played with, with a group of people; all the while realizing that there is little that disconnects us from one another and more that connects. “You are connected to me; I am connected to you; we are made out of the moons and stars in the sky.”

The various other themes include those of gratitude, of gaining freedom from the fetters of regret, of becoming fearless and learning to view both the aspects of situations as well as one’s personality. Full of practical miracles, the book is a good way to become more self-aware and clear away the clouds that prevent one from being a brighter shade of self.

                                                                                                                                     -Kriti Malhotra