First Darling of the Morning: Selected Memories of an Indian Childhood – An Honest Coming-of-Age Memoir of Parsi Life in 1960s Bombay

“[Umrigar] communicates her childhood longing for a cohesive family in deeply felt portraits of those she loves. . . . It is this combination of personal revelation and empathetic observation that makes Umrigar’s memoir so appealing.”— Washington Post Book World

From the bestselling author of The Space Between Us and If Today Be Sweet comes a sensitive, beautifully written memoir of Thrity Umrigar’s youth in India, told with the honesty and guilelessness that only a child’s point of view could provide.

In a series of incredibly poignant stories, Thrity Umrigar traces the arc of her Bombay childhood and adolescence—from her earliest memories growing up in a middle-class Parsi household to her eventual departure for the U.S. at age 21. Her emotionally charged scenes take an unflinching look at family issues once considered unspeakable—including intimate secrets, controversial political beliefs, and the consequences of child abuse. Punishments and tempered hopes, struggles and small successes all weave together in this evocative, unforgettable coming-of-age tale.

First Darling of the Morning also offers readers a fascinating glimpse at the 1960s and 70s Bombay of Umrigar’s memories. Two coming-of-age stories collide in this memoir—one of a small child, and one of a nation.

• Memoir of an Indian Childhood: Experience the world through the eyes of a sensitive girl growing up in a Parsi family in Bombay, tracing her journey from earliest memories to her departure for the U.S. at age twenty-one.
• Unflinching Honesty: An emotionally charged look at family issues once considered unspeakable, from intimate secrets and political beliefs to the lasting consequences of a difficult upbringing.
• Vivid Historical Setting: Step back into the Bombay of the 1960s and 70s, a city coming of age alongside a young girl, offering a fascinating glimpse into a nation in transition.
• Poignant Storytelling: From the bestselling author of The Space Between Us comes an unforgettable tale woven from tempered hopes, personal struggles, and small successes, told with the guilelessness only a child’s point of view can provide.

Thrity Umrigar is the author of seven novels Everybody’s Son, The Story Hour, The World We Found, The Weight of Heaven, The Space Between Us, If Today Be Sweet, and Bombay Time; a memoir, First Darling of the Morning; and a children’s picture book, When I Carried You in My Belly. A former journalist, she was awarded a Nieman Fellowship to Harvard and was a finalist for the PEN Beyond Margins Award. A professor of English at Case Western Reserve University, she lives in Cleveland, Ohio.