Archive · 28 Dec 2025
Rani Neutill's Memoir Explores Trauma and Identity
Rani Neutill, a professor and author, has written a memoir called 'do you know how lucky you are?'
about her difficult experiences and relationship with her mother.
The book is very honest and raw, dealing with heavy themes like trauma, identity, and mental illness.
Rani grew up moving between Kolkata and the US, and her mother left her in Kolkata with her grandmother when she was 12.
The book explores her feelings of abandonment and her struggle with her bi-cultural identity.
Rani hopes her story will resonate with people who have kept secrets about mental illness and personal problems.
Writing the book also marked the beginning of her creative writing career.
The memoir is a deeply personal account of how life events shape a person.
Rani Neutill's memoir 'do you know how lucky you are?' explores her traumatic experiences and complex relationship with her mother.
The book took 10 years to write and is published by HarperCollins Publishers.
Neutill discusses themes of identity, trauma, and mental illness, including her feelings of abandonment when her mother left her in Kolkata at age 12.
She hopes her story will resonate with people who have kept secrets about mental illness and personal struggles.
The memoir marks the beginning of Neutill's creative writing career, inspired by her mother's gruesome death and their complicated relationship.
- Who
- Rani Neutill, a professor and author
- What
- The publication and discussion of her memoir, 'do you know how lucky you are?'
- When
- The memoir took 10 years to write, and the interview was recent
- Where
- Kolkata, India, and Los Angeles/Pasadena, USA
- Why
- To explore her experiences, traumas, and relationship with her mother, and to share her story with others who may relate to her experiences
- Author
- Rani Neutill
- Book Title
- do you know how lucky you are?
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Writing Duration
- 10 years
- Central Themes
- Trauma, mother-daughter relationship, identity, mental illness
- Author's Background
- Professor and author
- Setting
- Kolkata, Los Angeles, Pasadena