3.4 Rituparna Chatterjee - How She Transformed Her Life Story Into A Magical Memoir

Tara and Michelle talk to Rituparna Chatterjee about how she uses magic realism to explore the heavy theme of child abuse in her memoir ‘The Water Phoenix’.We’ve joined #PodForChange to raise donations for Covid relief. Donate here: www.auwa.in/podforchangeRituparna recounts how real-life events inspired her to start writing this book as a fictional story and how her editor convinced her to turn it into a memoir. She shares how readers have reached out to her with their stories of abuse. Tara enjoys the refreshing way in which Rituparna’s stepmother is portrayed in the story. Michelle loves how she has managed to keep the essence of childhood alive throughout the book. We discuss why memoirs are becoming increasingly popular among readers because ‘People love real stories’.Why does she call herself a reluctant memoirist? How did she come up with the idea for the book cover? And did her son really edit her book? Tune in to find out! Book Recommendations:Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn WardSiddhartha by Hermann HesseOcean Sea by Alessandro BariccoRituparna Chatterjee is a writer, journalist, columnist and a former foreign correspondent for The Economic Times. For the same newspaper she writes California Dreaming, a column about her life as an immigrant mother in America. Her short stories for children have been published in various anthologies. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her son, husband and Quoisey, their samurai fish, and the dogs they puppysit. Find her book here: https://www.amazon.in/Water-Phoenix-childhood-healing-forgiveness/dp/9389000556'Books and Beyond with Bound' is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D'costa of Bound talk to some of the best writers in India and find out what makes them tick. Read more: https://boundindia.com/books-and-beyond-podcast/ Follow us @boundindia on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Check out our Meditative Writing class! https://boundindia.com/events/meditative-writing-workshop/Looking for a writing mentor to make your characters memorable? DM us or send us an email at [email protected]. Applications for The Bound Publishing Course 2026 are now open.The Bound Publishing Course is a 3-month intensive course on book, magazine, and digital publishing. Through live sessions, workshops, and industry-facing projects, participants gain practical publishing skills and exposure to careers across the industry.Cohort size: 50 seatsFirst round of acceptances: 15th June 2026Applications are reviewed on a rolling bas‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms.