The Curious Secrets of Yesterday - by Namrata Patel (Paperback)

About the Book

"Raised by her mother and grandmother and tutored in the healing wonders of spices, Tulsi Gupta is expected to carry on the ancestral tradition from her family's Salem spice shop. Restless and reluctant, Tulsi yearns to follow her own path-destiny has other plans. When Tulsi finds a letter written by her grandmother, addressed and never sent, that speaks of a long-ago betrayal, she decides to unravel the mystery as a distraction. But Tulsi stumbles into much more than she bargained for. With each new discovery, she learns there's much more to her mother and grandmother than their expertise in the remedial aromas of coriander and cloves. When an attractive neighbor begins renovating the shuttered deli next door, Tulsi finds the courage to break her routine and chase the unexpected. As Tulsi digs into the past and secrets come to light, she's determined to heal old family wounds and find her true purpose-and maybe even love-every step of the way."--

Book Synopsis

A woman's ambitions clash with familial expectations in a captivating novel about generational secrets and self-discovery by the bestselling author of The Candid Life of Meena Dave.

Raised by her mother and grandmother and tutored in the healing wonders of spices, Tulsi Gupta is expected to carry on the ancestral tradition from her family's Salem spice shop. Restless and reluctant, Tulsi yearns to follow her own path--destiny has other plans.

When Tulsi finds a letter written by her grandmother, addressed and never sent, that speaks of a long-ago betrayal, she decides to unravel the mystery as a distraction. But Tulsi stumbles into much more than she bargained for. With each new discovery, she learns there's much more to her mother and grandmother than their expertise in the remedial aromas of coriander and cloves. When an attractive neighbor begins renovating the shuttered deli next door, Tulsi finds the courage to break her routine and chase the unexpected.

As Tulsi digs into the past and secrets come to light, she's determined to heal old family wounds and find her true purpose--and maybe even love--every step of the way.

Review Quotes

"[R]eaders will enjoy reading about Tulsi's realistic internal conflicts and learning around the benefits of certain spices. Full of wisdom and drama, this book is recommended for relationship-fiction collections." --Booklist

"The journey of these three generations of Ayurvedic spice healers in historical Salem will envelop you like the warmth from cinnamon and cloves and stay with you long after the last page." --Mansi Shah, bestselling author of The Direction of the Wind