After a sedate introduction to her forebears, we have to buckle our seat belts and let the author guide us through the roller-coaster of her life. Our heroine fearlessly negotiates the complexities of life in multicultural Singapore and India, tackling the foibles of each society and takes her huge extended family in her stride.  We go beyond the usual familiar and touristy India to remote areas of India, Nepal, and Bhutan, working with leprosy patients, dealing with a wide array of curious cases, and rubbing shoulders with dignitaries and royalty amidst mudslides and all kinds of disasters. How she managed a husband and two children is a mystery, although she acknowledges various helpers, always bringing them to life in fascinating detail. Many vignettes of people have been described in a manner not to be forgotten.