Dare To Live by Himanshu Bhatia

When you go out into the "real" world of corporate jobs, working in MNCs and meeting deadlines set by clients- the person that you rely on the most is your manager. Atharv had it great for a while. His manager was chill, almost like a friend. He loved his job and he was being offered another position at the same company too. Well, good times bring bad times with them too.

Atharv starts his position under his project manager Mandira. And everything goes to hell for him. Mandira is controlling, miserly, two-faced manager. Basically the nightmare package. Working at office is a task for Atharv, but to add salt on the wounds- in comes the COVID-19 virus. How does Atharv cope with working from home under Mandira? His family and work-life balance is terribly affected, as is his physical as well as mental health. What happens next? Read Dare to Live by Himanshu Bhatia to find out.

My views-

I used to consider myself lucky because my manager is chill guy as well. Mandira's character made me want to send my manager a bouquet saying "Thank you for being humane!". The Author's description of the commute to work made me miss my commute through the local trains. I kinda miss it but I'm happy I'm not doing it lol. The story is amazing. Plenty of times it made me wonder if Mandira would get away with being a shitty person again, but thankfully the ending will give you a justice boner.

The dynamics between the characters is amazing! The family dynamics is great as well. I loved the part where Atharv's wife loses his temper with him because he does not contribute to household chores during WFH. I see that happening in every house tbh...

Bottom line of the book is that your mental and physical health is more important than pleasing your seniors. Do not take bullying lying down. Get help, contact HR. Also the most important tip- document EVERYTHING!

Ratings- 4.5/5

Characters- 4/4

Story- 5/5