An Imagined Life

Eleven-year-old Akash Patil lives happily with his mother and extended family in a small, secluded community on the American East Coast—a haven for South Asian immigrants. However, an unforeseen tragedy in his town sets off a harrowing sequence of events, disrupting the peace within his family and close-knit neighborhood. As Akash struggles to cope with change, he discovers an alluring imaginative ability that allows him to escape his present affliction and relive his most cherished childhood memories. But once he recognizes that this power may be tainting his recollections more than preserving them, Akash is forced to decide whether or not the temporary comfort it provides is worth risking his understanding of himself and his past. Here begins an epic, poignant, and deeply emotional tale that weaves between the real and the surreal, travels from Manhattan to the San Francisco Bay Area, and follows Akash over several defining adolescent years. Tracing themes of nostalgia, loneliness, aging, culture, and community, AN IMAGINED LIFE is an ambitious work of modern literature that skillfully exhibits the internal evolution of a young adult while presenting a sweeping tapestry of complex diasporic relationships.