AUTHOR INTRODUCTION

Preeti Shenoy, among the top five highest selling authors in India (Source: Nielsen scan), is also
on the Forbes long list of the most influential celebrities in India. She is the highest selling
woman writer in India.
India Today has named her as being unique for being the only woman in the best-selling league.
Her second book Life is what you make it continues to top the best-selling charts and has been
translated into several languages including Turkish . Her third Tea for two and a piece of cake
made it to the top five best-selling Indian fiction of 2012. Her fourth, The Secret wish
list was among the top ten fiction of 2013. Her fifth, The One You Cannot Have debuted at
No.2 on the Nielsen list. The sixth It happens for a Reason was out in December 2014 and has
been on the Nielsen top ten, every week, since its release.Her seventh book Why We love The
Way We Do was among the top five best-selling non-fiction books of 2015.
She had been awarded the Academia award for Business Excellence by the New Delhi Institute
of Management, which is given to distinguished professionals for innovative best practices for
their contribution to their field that adds to Indias International and national reputation. She was
a keynote speaker at BNLF 2015, along with Bruce Dickinson(of Iron Maiden fame).
She has also given several talks in many educational institutions such as IITs, IIMs, and many
corporate organisations like KPMG, Infosys, and Accenture. She is also an artist specialising in
portraiture.
She has a very popular blog and she also writes a weekly column in The Financial Chronicle.
She had a huge online following and is very active on the social media. Her other interests are
travel, photography and Ashtanga yoga.
Preeti Shenoy is a multi-talented person who is famously known as a bestselling Indian author.
Shenoy has authored three other books including Tea For Two And A Piece Of Cake, The Secret
Wish List, and 34 Bubblegums And Candies. Preeti was born on 21st December in 1971 and
studied all across the country in different Kendriya Vidyalayas. She was interested in writing
since her childhood but became a full-time writer after her blogs success in 2006. She started
writing for leading newspapers and magazines such as The Times of India and Readers Digest.
Her other talents include paper quilling, poetry, basketball, yoga, blogging, and pencil art. She
was listed in the Forbes longlist of the most influential celebrities in India.

Life is What you Make it

(What would you do if destiny twisted the road you took? What if it threw you to a place you did
not want to go? Would you fight, would you run or would you accept? Set across two cities in

India in the early eighties, Life is what you make it is a gripping account of a few significant
years of Ankitas life.
Ankita Sharma has the world at her feet. She is young, good-looking, smart and has tonnes of
friends and boys swooning over her. College life is what every youngster dreams of and she also
manages to get into a premier management school for her MBA. Six months later, she is a patient
in a mental health hospital. How did Ankita get here? What were the events that led to this? Will
she ever get back her life again?
Life has cruelly and coldly snatched that which meant the most to her and she must now fight to
get it all back.
It is a deeply moving and inspiring account of growing up, of the power of faith and how
determination and an indomitable spirit can overcome even what destiny throws at you.
A tale, at its core a love-story that makes us question our beliefs about ourselves and our concept
of sanity and forces us to believe that life is truly what one makes it.) {conclusion}
BOOK REVIEW
Life is What You Make it by Preeti Shenoy is an inspiring novel. She has also written 34
Bubblegums and Candies which was a creative non-fiction that made it to the national bestseller
list.
This book was given to me by my dad on daughters day. The funny part is he starting reading it
first and I didnt got any chance to read it but I wanted to read it desperately as my dad used to
tell me its story. I read it in my preparatory holidays. I was studying for my exam and accidently
I picked up this book and I couldnt stop myself reading it. The prologue was intriguing and then
there was no way to stop reading it. It took me four hours to completely read this novel and
satisfy my curiosity to know more. It sounds hilarious that I started for my exam and ended up
reading this novel.
Well, this is a story of a girl and the struggles of her mind. There are things in our life that affect
us so much but we dont react to it at that time. Later on that trauma affects our mind and we
dont even come to know when we start drowning ourselves into that darkness. Doctors call it
depression. It may sound weird as normal people think that the person is getting mad and going
to a therapist they is a negative opinion. The same thing happens with the chief protagonist,
Ankita Sharma. She is a brilliant personality but the death of her boyfriend, Abhi drown her into
darkness. She start finding him in other people like her classmate. She develops a fear in her
mind and soon things began to fall. And in the end she finds herself in an asylum where she tries
hard to recover.

Technically speaking, the language of this novel was easy to understand. The poem in the
starting by William Ernest Henley left me spell bound. The author has beautifully written some
descriptions and phrases that impressed me. For instance: Never Belittle Love.. then the
character sketch of Chaya,Jigna, Joseph and Uday :
Chaya was thin and short and looked like a child who was in Class 10, not a student of a
Management Institute. Jigna was very tall, fair and well built with short hair and very confident.
Joseph, looked like an absent minded professor. He had a mop for unruly curly hair and
twinkling eyes. Joseph had worked for two years at a shipping firm. Uday was bearded and had
an air of restlessness and arrogance about him. He was fresh from engineering college but looked
a lot older than a student who had just finished Engineering. The vivid descriptions shows us
how good observant The author is.
The author has given some autobiographical touches to the story which can melt your heart and
make you shed tears of solitude. For example :
I did not even imagine that my grief, my pain and my seriousness poured out into those pages
would be stripped bare and examined harshly under the binding, unbearable glare of medical
terminology and jargon, which I had not even heard of. In the harshness of that examination, my
carefully chosen words full of angst, longing and sincerity would wilt and wane. They would be
killed stamped out. Not a trace would be left.
The author has used long and short sentences both. Some of the sentences can be complex. The
special part is has beautifully expressed her poetic diction and we clearly see in some chapters
like:
I nudged him when I saw the ocean. The skies were a turbulent grey and the sea danced in wild
abandon. The wind sang a melancholy song as nature unfolded her splendour, like a dancer who
knows that she is cynosure of all eyes. Just look at the way she expressed her thoughts and it
flowed like a poetry. We also find a poem written in the very chapter:
A stop gap relationship
She looks at him with misty eyes
They have made love
Or attempted to
He seems content and relaxed
Most importantly, satisfied.
Not noticing her silence
Or perhaps choosing to ignore it
Not knowing the cause.
He is talking about leaving now
His voice a monotonous drone
Over the din of the fan in the background
In the cramped two room apartment
Filled with the smell of their sweating bodies.
In her mind a thought crosses
That the only difference between her
And her sisters on the street
The so called whores

Is that they receive payment in cash

And she receives it through emotions,
In form of words,
Words that have ceased to have a meaning now
Empty words- I love You
This poem brought tears in my eyes and one can see the pain and the depth in this poem.
The author has used the epistolary technique in some chapters. This can be seen with the
exchange of letters between Vaibhav and Ankita, Abhi and Ankita, Suvi and Ankita. To be more
precise she has used dialogic technique of novel writing. I must say she has a great knowledge of
this technique.
To end with, Preeti Shenoy has creatively written this novel and readers can co-relate some
segments of their life to it. The title and the cover is really inspiring. I suggest all my readers that
this book is not a one time read instead you can re- read it many times whenever you feel alone.
LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT is a novel which has a female as the main character. The
lead female of the story is Ankita Sharma. She is a sweet, attractive, smart,
ambitious and happy go lucky girl born into a conservative middle class family. It is
a chronicle of her life.
Set in 1989 when Doordarshan was the main source of entertainment and when
letter writings was in vogue. The tale begins from her college days, then her
admission into MBA institute in Mumbai.
Everything is going her way till then. But suddenly her life is in a mess. She finds
herself in a disturbing situation partly because of her fault and partly due to destiny.

But, like the birth of Pheonix she overcome her peculiar circumstances. The story
ends with the rebirth of Ankita into person who celebrates everyday for being alive.
That is the story in brief for you.
LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT is a glorious work of art. It is elegantly written by Preeti
Shenoy. She has several academic degrees to her credit. She has also written for
different publication like Readers Digest and Times of India. She also loves art,
reading, travelling, photography, nature, bloggings and lots more. She is the writer
of the best selling novel "34 Bubblegums and candies". She is carrying forward the
pioneering work done by Chetan Bhagat. In fact, she has outdone Chetan.
The plot of the novel may seems very straightforward. However, it is a novel worth
reading. Let us discuss why you should buy or read this book. First reason is that it
discusses about the little known but widespread problem-- bi polar disorder. It is a
mental infliction which is charcterised by extreme mood swing.
The novel tries to spread awareness about this problem through the story of Ankita

and it attempt to enlightened people about the mental illness and the cure. The
novel endeavours to remove the stigma attach with mental illness. Secondly , if you
are in your thirties or forties, it will remind you of your teenage as well as college
days.
How much fun do you have during those time? How you fell for a girl or a boy, the
first kiss, the first motorcycler ride and lots more. You will simply relive those
precious years of your life through this novel. You will love the part when Ankita
tries to call her boyfriend over phone. Third, it has an epilogue as well as a
prologue. This makes it more interesting to read.
Fourthly, it emphasises on the importance of love in our life. "Never to belittle love,
no matter where it came from and to be a little humbler, nicer and kinder with my
words and actions' is a wonderful quote from the book. Sixthly, the importance of
relationship has been highlighted in this novel.
Seventhly, the writer has the able to charm you witth her incredible narration. She
will hypnotize you with her mesmerizing story telling technique. So, just pick up this
novel and let Preety Shenoy takes you into a new world.
ABOUT BOOK LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT

Life Is What You Make It is a fictional story about a strong female character
whose life takes unexpected turns and how she uses her indomitable spirit to
make the most of it. Set across two Indian cities in 1989, the story begins
when Ankita is shown to be reading letters that she exchanged with Vaibhav.
And here onward, the reader is taken on a flashback story that relates the
life of Ankita and how she ended up in a hospital. Ankita is in her twenties
and belongs to a conservative middle class family. Her parents are so strict
that they do not even like her being friends with guys. She is a smart,
career-oriented, confident, young, attractive, sweet, and happy go lucky girl.
She has lots of friends and is wooed by many boys at her college. Her
college life is what every youngster dreams of but Ankita does not
underestimate the importance of studies as well. She secures a seat in a
leading management school. She is one of the most happening girls in the
college. However, at times she is haunted by some issues that she faced in
her past. A love story at heart, this tale of unconquerable human spirit
shows how Ankita does not succumb to her destiny and decides to fight
back. It is an inspiring and moving account of determination and faith as
Ankita challenges what destiny throws at her. It is a story that makes the
reader question the very concepts of sanities and teaches the fact that life is
what one makes of it.
What would you do if destiny twisted the road you took? What if it threw you to a place you did
not want to go? Would you fight, would you run or would you accept?Set across two cities in

India in the early eighties, Life is what you make it is a gripping account of a few significant
years of Ankitas life.Ankita Sharma has the world at her feet. She is young, good-looking, smart
and has tonnes of friends and boys swooning over her. College life is what every youngster
dreams of and she also manages to get into a premier management school for her MBA.Six
months later, she is a patient in a mental health hospital.How did Ankita get here? What were the
events that led to this? Will she ever get back her life again? Life has cruelly and coldly snatched
that which meant the most to her and she must now fight to get it all back.It is a deeply moving
and inspiring account of growing up, the power of faith and how determination and an
indomitable spirit can overcome even what destiny throws at you.A tale, at its core a love-story
that makes us question our beliefs about ourselves and our concept of sanity and forces us to
believe that life is truly what one makes it.
The actual story begins with her. Her college , how she was participated in every activity. She
has a boy friend named"VAIBHAV" .She used to write letters and he used to reply her. Some
how she dares to call him wen her parents are out of d house. After the story continues like dat.
When one day her college celebrates a festival. In that festival , she meets her new friend
named"ABHI". after so many days they fall into love. But it ends with a lip lock kiss. I mean we
don't know here that suddenly "ABHI" dies one day.This will be in all the news papers next
day.Then she also feels very bad.After some days she forget abut that. She joins in a MBA
college in Mumbai as it her goal to do MBA. Then again there she gets a news friends and one
who was affectionate was JOSEPH. whenever she will be with JOSEPH she remembers ABHI.

After one day suddenly one thing happens in her home. Her parents knows about her letters
which she writes to vaibhav and abhi. Then in front of her , her parents take the papers and throw
into fire. With that she feels very bad. After few days she attempts to sucide. but her father stops.
And her parents concerns tow doctors to her, but no change in her.Then at last they join her into a
world best mental hospital. Then after 6 weeks there she becomes normal and she continues her
painting course but not interested in doing MBA. Though it is her goal but her interest was
painting. she continues like dat.SO FINALLY WE CAN SAY THAT "LIFE IS WHAT YOU
MAKE IT". Every one must read this book.

About The Book

Ankita Sharma has the world in her palms. She is young, smart and heads turn at every
corner she walks by. Born into a conservative middle class household - this defines the
chronicle of her life. Set in a time when Doordarshan was the prime source of
entertainment and writing love letters was the general fad, every youngster dreams of
the thrills of college life. And so, her admission into an MBA institute in Mumbai follows.
Ankita's story begins here, from her life as a college student. Life seems all sunshine
and flowers until a drastic turn leaves her staring at a disturbing path, only because of

her own misdoing. Jump to six months later. The sun glistens on a sombre building.
Magnetized in view, the words - Mental Institute. Who is the face staring out of the
window?
What if destiny twisted your journey? What if it dragged you to a place that houses your
worst fears? Would you stand and fight or would you run? Set in the late eighties,
across two cities, Life is What You Make It is a compelling account of growing up,
determination, faith and how an unconquerable spirit can overcome the punches destiny
throws at you. At its core, it is a love story that makes us question our identity and the
concept of sanity.
Life is what you make it Well, to start with this is really one of those books
which makes you restless if you dont finish it in continuation! I started reading this
book last weekend but then due to lots of other commitments both at office and
home front, I could not get time to pick it back. And trust me, every night when I
missed to read the book I kept on thinking about Ankita and what exactly would
have happened to her perfect life which ended her being into a mental hospital?
Initial few pages portrayed her life going on a smooth path a nice student life in
one of the most reputed colleges and a nice personal life with all the love from her
boyfriend Then how come she is meeting this psychiatrist described at the start of
the story? Thank God, I finally got the chance to pick it up this Saturday and all the
curiosity ensured that I didnt keep the book down without finishing it completely.As
I do with my reviews, I dont prefer to reveal much of the story or scenes from any
book / movie in the interest who are yet to read / watch it. So, here goes just the
brief summary of what this book is all about Its is the story of a young gal Ankita
Sharma who is confident, smart, ambitious and is moving ahead in her life in the
desired direction. The book starts with her first exposure to college life, her long
distance love relationship, her changing personality in an all girls college, her
encounter with new friends and relationship swings like most of the girls of her age.
Life is going good till she realizes that God has made some other plans for her.
Ankitas life turns topsy-turvy when she is diagnosed with a mental illness. The
second half of the book very sensitively deals with her anger, fear, pain and her
struggle to overcome the odds of her life. What seems to be an easy, breezy read in
the beginning actually turns out to be an intense and captivating story by the
end.Personally speaking, I really loved the book and it fared far better than I
expected it to be. Reason for expecting it to be a general read was mainly the
sentence on the cover of the book "A story of love, hope and how determination
can overcome destiny". I assumed it to be like most of these urban English fiction
these days i.e., simple love story with general highs and lows of life. But this book is
much more than just another love story. More than anything else, I liked the
narration of this story. Be it the joy or fun of Ankita or her strife to regain her life,
almost every aspect has been presented in a simple yet gripping way. There were
moments when I got so engrossed with Ankitas pain that I actually ended up
googling bipolar disorder in order to understand this disease better. From words to

the plot, everything held my attention from start to end. As per authors one the
tweets, this book has been declared as national bestseller now. Well, it definitely
deserves to be one! Overall, a very interesting read and a book which I
surely recommend.

About
the
author:
Preeti Shenoy is an author and artist. She believes life is the biggest teacher. She is an avid
blogger, whose poetry has also been published. This book is her second published work.
My
thoughts
on
the
book:
So we have the protagonist, Ankita. Shes a 20 something girl who seems to have issues from the
past that haunts her present. In the prologue, we start with her sitting on a chair outside the
doctors office, mulling over how theyve come a long way to get her treated. Now that start is
perfect. Its that conflict that pushes the story toward an ending, and makes the reader wonder
why shes at a doctors office in the first place. But then, in the next paragraph, it appears as if
the protagonist is still traveling to the doctors office. And were taken through a drive. Major
confusion here and that doesnt do the story good.
The story begins as a flashback. Were shown letters that Ankita sends to Vaibhav and Vaibhavs
reply. As the story moves, we come to know that Ankitas parents are very old-school (for the
lack of a better term) and dont approve of her being with other guys, even if in a group, or allow
her friends who are boys to call her at home. So they begin to sneak around, doing what they can
to stay in touch. Guess love is like that.
The story moves to Ankitas life at college. This part of the story goes well. Its kind of like
settling in, finding new friends, etc. She gets elected into the schools office bearers group. The
campaign part is fun too. The story goes smoothly till the second guy comes into the picture.
Abhi, the guy who she meets at an inter-collegiate event, begins to woo her. Now, good for her
part that she tries to tell Abhi about Vaibhav and stuff, but if she is really in love, then it feels
really strange that shed start feeling for Abhi so suddenly. Especially with her talking to Vaibhav
and pretending all is well all along. Fast forward and Abhi proposes that Ankita stay in the same
city and college so their relationship continues, but Ankita refuses because her parents would not
understand, and more so because shes got into the best college in another city. She even refuses
to guarantee that shell stay in touch with him because she felt it silly. (If she could stay in touch
with, and sneak calls with Vaibhav earlier, this casual brush off for someone who was right near
to her and who she loved felt very out of character.) The events that follow leave a big mark
on her, and she leaves the city on a sad note.
From this point, and her new college life for her Masters degree, the turnaround in her character
is quite stunning. She becomes very, maybe even too competitive, and starts seeking perfection.
She has affections for one of her new classmates, and kisses him. When her academics seem to
be going well, her parents find her love letters and turn on her. In front of her, they burn the
letters. From here, her mind cracks and she begins to lose it. The problems arise and she leaves

going to college. Her parents take her to psychiatrists to try and solve her problem, even trying to
force her to return to college. Shes taken to NMHI where she finds someone whos willing to
listen to her, understand her problems and help her get past them. And we move to the ending
which culminates it all.
What I liked in the story is the simple language and narration. Its a quick read if you have
some time on your hands. Its inspiring to the extent that it tells you problems are temporary and
you can get past them if you believe. Yes, the story does have elements of a love story, but it isnt
completely one.
What I didnt like in the story is that you are left much confused. The prologue is conflicting,
and the characters very shallow. Its difficult to think that when your daughter is excelling in the
field shes chosen, any parent would react in that cut-throat way to finding a love letter that HAS
a date and is known that its long back and target their daughters mind health, no matter how
strict they are. You dont get to know why Ankita begins to lose her mind suddenly, if its one
thing or a combination of different things. The title is only justified with an epilogue that
happens fifteen years later. You start to think the plot somewhat quarter or half way into it, so
knowing what might happen leaves you disappointed, and also makes our feeling of sadness or
sympathy with the protagonist less.
Overall, I think this is a one-time read. I cant for the life of me figure out why the book is as
popular as it is. I dont think it is a bad book, but its confusing why it is titled so. Its a really
nice message, I agree, but the story doesnt bring it out like it needs to.
THEME..

The focus of the book is not Bipolar Disorder. Instead, it is around an individual, who had
Bipolar Disorder, and rather than sit back and accept it, she decided to change her own destiny
and make life what she wanted it to be. Bipolar Disorder is slowly gaining awareness in India but
continues to be treated as somewhat of a taboo topic in most households. The book is based on a
true story and when I first heard the story, it moved me so much that I decided it had to be
written and shared with the world. The real life Ankita is a very inspirational person and since
she had Bipolar Disorder, I had to do quite a lot of research on the disorder to be able to put
myself in her shoes and write her story in a realistic fashion. This could happen to any of us and
her courage and attitude is definitely worth emulating and hence LIWYMI.
You must have done a lot of research on this topic. How did you go about it?
Months of effort! It took me two years to write this book. I spent a lot of time researching on the
Internet and read a number of books and articles written on this topic. In addition, I spoke to a
number of doctors to get a better understanding of the subject, symptoms and treatments. I also
visited a few treatment centres where I got a first-hand experience of seeing what Bipolar
Disorder is all about, understanding the treatment conducted and getting a feel of what Ankita
must have gone through. Since I was based in the U.K. at the time, I had access to a whole lot of

organisations and support groups. In U.K., there is even a Bipolar Artists organisation and some
of their work is amazing. My respect for Ankita went up threefold, when I comprehended what a
person with Bipolar Disorder goes through and how much of a struggle it truly is to lead a
normal life.
What do you think are some of the reasons for the popularity that Life is What you Make
it is enjoying among readers?
It is a story that could have happened to anybody. It is a story of courage in the starkest of
circumstances. My writing style has always been very down to earth and simple and I write from
the heart. The amount of research that I did before I wrote the book helped tremendously in
portraying the characters in the book and bringing their emotions alive. A number of people ask
me if it is my story and that is when I feel that my effort, research and work have paid off, since
only if you actually get into the skin of someone who has gone through something like this,
would it turn out so well. The real life Ankita loves the book. I also find that there are so many
readers who have gone through life facing similar challenges and this formed an instant connect
with the book.
It would be interesting to know how different your experiences were in writing fiction and
non-fiction (your first book 34 Bubblegums and Candies).
Very, very different. It is like comparing apples and oranges. As mentioned earlier, the common
theme about the two books was that it came straight from the heart.
34 Bubblegums and Candies was at a time when I was trying to get over the grief of losing my
Dad and had started blogging. The response I received on my blog
(Justamotheroftwo.blogspot.com) was like an inverted pyramid! It saw a sudden explosion in
readership, with a number of readers relating to my posts as incidents that I wrote about had
happened to them too. Quite a few readers kept asking me to put it all in a book and 34
Bubblegums and Candies was the outcome. LIWYMI on the other hand, was an outcome of my
meeting up with the real life Ankita, hearing her story and then being deeply inspired by it. The
genre for both is different. There are a number of readers who like both and on the other hand,
some who prefer one or the other. Both experiences have been extremely satisfying and have
taken a lot of effort.
You have been blogging for quite some time now. How much of a role has your blog and its
readers played in shaping your writing career?
Blogging was what I started off with. It connected me to people and the responses I received
from various people motivated me to write more and more. Writing regularly has paid rich
dividends when my books were published, since it was my writing over a period of time that
helped evolve my own, personal style of writing. My blog is now amongst the top 10k blogs in

the world and I will always have that connect with my readers and am thankful to all of them for
motivating and encouraging me when I had started off and continuing to be with me on my blog.
Life Is What You Make It is a fictional story about a strong female character whose
life takes unexpected turns and how she uses her indomitable spirit to make the
most of it.
Summary of the Book:
Life Is What You Make It is a story about a young female protagonist whose life gets
shaken by her destiny in a highly unexpected manner. Set across two Indian cities in
1989, the story begins when Ankita is shown to be reading letters that she
exchanged with Vaibhav. And here onward, the reader is taken on a flashback story
that relates the life of Ankita and how she ended up in a hospital.
Ankita is in her twenties and belongs to a conservative middle class family. Her
parents are so strict that they do not even like her being friends with guys. She is a
smart, career-oriented, confident, young, attractive, sweet, and happy go lucky girl.
She has lots of friends and is wooed by many boys at her college. Her college life is
what every youngster dreams of but Ankita does not underestimate the importance
of studies as well. She secures a seat in a leading management school. She is one of
the most happening girls in the college. However, at times she is haunted by some
issues that she faced in her past.
Life seems to be sailing smooth for Ankita until one fine day when she is admitted to
a mental hospital. Life suddenly snatches everything that Ankita had in her world in
a cruel twist of fate. How did things change so badly? How will Ankita take this
sudden blow of destiny? Will she survive it? Will she ever be able to live a normal
life?
A love story at heart, this tale of unconquerable human spirit shows how Ankita
does not succumb to her destiny and decides to fight back. It is an inspiring and
moving account of determination and faith as Ankita challenges what destiny
throws at her. It is a story that makes the reader question the very concepts of
sanities and teaches the fact that life is what one makes of it. Moreover, the simple
language and narration of Life Is What You Make It emphasizes that problems are
never permanent and it is ones spirit that can carve the path to ones life.
What would you do if destiny twisted the road you took? What if it threw you to a
place you did not want to go? Would you fight, would you run or would you accept?
Set across two cities in India in the early eighties, 'Life is what you make it' is a
gripping account of a few significant years of Ankita's life.
Ankita Sharma has the world at her feet. She is young, good-looking, smart and has
tonnes of friends and boys swooning over her. College life is what every youngster
dreams of and she also manages to get into a premier management school for her
MBA. Six months later, she is a patient in a mental health hospital. How did Ankita
get here? What were the events that led to this? Will she ever get back her life

again?
Life has cruelly and coldly snatched that which meant the most to her and she must
now fight to get it all back.
It is a deeply moving and inspiring account of growing up, of the power of faith and
how determination and an indomitable spirit can overcome even what destiny
throws at you.
A tale, at its core a love-story that makes us question our beliefs about ourselves
and our concept of sanity and forces us to believe that life is truly what one makes
it.
About the Author
Preeti Shenoy is an author and an artist based at Banglore, India. Her first book '34
Bubblegums and Candies', a creative non-fiction made it to the national best-seller
list.
Her interests are as multifarious and diverse as her several academic degrees. She
also specialises in pencil portraits and holds an internationally recornised
qualification from UK in portraiture. She has held a number of varied jobs in the
past. She has also written for different publications life Readers Digest and Times of
India, as well as taught English and Math to underprivileged children in India. She
loves art, reading, travelling, photography, nature, animals, blogging and basketball
and most of all, spending time with her spouse and two children.

LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT.

Life Is What You Make It by Preeti Shenoy is at its core a love story, set across
India in the late eighties and early nineties. It is a story of love, hope and
how determination can overcome even destiny. Preeti Shenoy has
established herself as an elegant writer with novels like 34 Bubble Gums and
Candies and establishes her versatility all the more with this novel. It was
first published in 2011 by Srishti Publishers and Distributors. It has 209
pages and is priced at just Rs. 100. Set across two cities in India,
Life Is What You Make It

is a gripping account of a few significant years of Ankita

s (the protagonist


s) Life. Ankita Sharma has the world at her feet. She is young, good looking,
smart and has tonnes of friends and boys swooning over her. College Life is
what every youngster dreams for and she also manages to get into a premier
management school for her MBA. Six months later her life is in a mess. She is
a patient in a mental health hospital. How did she get there? What were the
events that led to this? Will she ever get back her life again? Life has cruelly
and coldly snatched that which meant the most to her and she must now
fight to get it back. It is a deeply moving and inspiring account of growing up,
the power of faith and how determination and an indomitable spirit can
overcome even what destiny throws at you. It is a tale, at its core a love
story, that makes us question our beliefs about ourselves and our concept of
sanity and forces us to believe that life is truly what one makes it. The novel
tries to spread awareness about bipolar disorder, a mental infection which is
characterised by extreme mood swings. It reminds one of his/her college
days. The adventure of
ones
first kiss, first love, first motorcycle ride and lots more. Besides this, the
writer charms the reader with her incredible narration and mesmerising story
telling technique.

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Life is What You Make It Quotes

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Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How Determination Can
Overcome Even Destiny by Preeti Shenoy
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Life is What You Make It Quotes (showing 1-18 of 18)
Creativity is closely associated with bipolar disorder. This condition is unique .
Many famous historical figures and artists have had this. Yet they have led a full life
and contributed so much to the society and world at large. See, you have a gift.
People with bipolar disorder are very very sensitive. Much more than ordinary
people. They are able to experience emotions in a very deep and intense way. It
gives them a very different perspective of the world. It is not that they lose touch
with reality. But the feelings of extreme intensity are manifested in creative things.
They pour their emotions into either writing or whatever field they have chosen" (pg
181)
Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny
tags: bipolar-disorder, inner-demons, persephone
186 likes
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if you have not made somebody's day happier, if you've not appreciated
something good that has happened to you and if you have not felt thankful to be
alive, then you have wasted that day of your life on earth!
Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny
96 likes
Like
If I pretended to be "normal" and behaved just like everybody else, if I masked my
emotions and smiled a lot, even if I felt disconsolate, nobody would be able to tell
Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny
52 likes
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Never belittle love

Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny
tags: failure, life, love
30 likes
Like
The world is indeed a better place when there is love, friendship, acceptance and
hope. Powered by these you can indeed overcome anything including destiny.
Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny
tags: inspirational, love, world
16 likes
Like
It is indeed amazing how words and kindness have the power to heal, perhaps
much more than medicines.
Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny
2 likes
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Sorry Pa," I managed to finally say, choking on my own words. It was the hardest
apology I have ever made in my life.
I truly meant it. But I had no words left to convey its depth.
Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny
tags: apology, love, parents-and-children
2 likes
Like
Sometimes decisions that are taken in the nick of a moment are the ones that have
the power to affect a whole train of events that follow.
Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny
1 likes
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I wrote and wrote and poured out my twenty one year old heart into those pages.
Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny

tags: writing
1 likes
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Sometimes all one needs is a strong anchor, a person you can trust blindly.
Someone who will lead you on, be there for you and never let you down.
Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny
1 likes
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You have no right to kill others. Then how can you have a right to kill yourself?
Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny
tags: suicidal-thoughts
1 likes
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Never to belittle love, no matter where it came from and to be a little humbler,
nicer and kinder with my words and actions.
Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny
0 likes
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It was the first time in months that somebody was explaining what was happening
to me and assuring me that it was okay.
It was the first time in months that somebody was talking to me like I mattered.
It was the first time in months that I was being assured that I need not feel guilty for
something that was out of my control.
Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny
tags: empathy, inspiring
0 likes
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Once you know what direction to take, finding the path to it becomes easy.
Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny
0 likes
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Nobody would have been able to understand the depth of my joy and the extent of
my happiness unless they had themselves gone through what I just had.
Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny
tags: happiness, perception, positivity
0 likes
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The world is indeed a better place when there is love, friendship, acceptance and
hope. Powered by these, you can indeed overcome anything, including destiny.
Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny
0 likes
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INVICTUS William Ernest Henley Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit
from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In
the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the
bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of
wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the
years Finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How
charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of
my soul.
Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny
0 likes
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wild
Preeti Shenoy, Life is What You Make It: A Story of Love, Hope and How
Determination Can Overcome Even Destiny
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