I rarely read non-fiction and absolutely avoid self-help books. But when I picked up Brewed for the Soul by Anubha Agarwal for work, I knew I was about to have a good time.

The book outlines the author’s life and a myriad of choices that led her to where she is now in life. With a successful career and accomplished life, it is easy to attribute it all to good fortune and hard work. But it really is trial and error and the tough road to choosing yourself above all that led her to her path and there’s still miles to go.

Anubha Agarwal is a talented artist across mediums. She paints, she writes poetry, she dances and she tells stories. But it is her pivots in life that make the book stand out from your regular memoirs. The least of those factors is that this might just be the first installment in a series.

While most memoirs would be about incredible things someone has done, I am thinking Careless People and A Promised Land, but this book is about finding yourself in the noise of other people, societal expectations and even wrong choices.

Reading this book felt like assurance that even if things go wrong, you can build your life back on track again. And if you do not wish to traverse the same track as everyone and wish to lay down new foundations for yourself, that is also completely fine.

The prose is kept conversational to the point it reads like a letter from the future self to let the younger self know that everything will turn out fine because it is you who is living this life.

The aspect of the book that stood out most to me is the fact that it was not didactic. There was no formula laid down to live your life a certain way to be like the author. In fact, the core idea of the book was to be yourself, whoever that is. The takeaway from the book was to live your life on your own terms and success, in its varied forms, will follow.

When the author breaks away from the societal pressures of acting a certain way to fit in and taking decisions simply because it is expected of her as woman in different stages of life, she truly finds herself. Through art, travel and a lot of daring, she asserts her claim to self-expression and takes life by the horns to keep her own pace and path.

Brewed for the Soul by Anubha Agarwal incorporates her original poetry and sketches to express the emotions of her life’s various stages. The seamless way the book moves from poetry to prose and back again reminded me of the way a meandering river flows, deep and languid in its introspection.

The author has lived an exciting life, nonetheless. Naturally, the book is eventful, there is no space to be bored, no stage of life that drags on. In fact, the book leaves you wanting to know more, wishing you had a friend like the author.

If you are looking for a hopeful non-fiction to add to your TBR, Brewed for the Soul by Anubha Agarwal is definitely recommended for some light healing in a realistic packaging.

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