Where are They Now? Order Autographed Book and Get Free India Photo

Santosh (now 19 years old!) and me-Oct 2010

If you have been following this blog, or read The Weight of Silence: Invisible Children of India (original edition), you may be wondering what has happened to some of these kids over the past few years. They may have grown near and dear to your heart, as they have to mine.

I have returned to India each year, and kept in touch with Santosh, Daina, Sibani, Sumitra and the others. I’ve also stayed in close contact with many of the organizations and adults who have tirelessly dedicated their lives to these children, their rights and their futures.

If you would like to revisit the world, and issues, of these kids – and find out what has happened to them in the last three years – then I invite you to pick up your copy of the newly released 2011 Revised and Expanded edition of The Weight of Silence. This new version has 25 additional pages, an entire Epilogue chapter, updating readers on the lives of Santosh, Daina, Yesu Babu, Sumitra and many others. There are also new photographs, taken last year. Wow, are they growing up!!

Chandler in India, 2006

And as a special gift, if you order a copy FROM THIS PAGE ONLY, via this purchase link, you will receive two additions from me personally. First, I will send you an autographed copy of the new book edition. Second, you may select from one of the beautiful photos of India, below, taken by my daughter Chandler. I will send you a 5 x 7 print of the photograph of your choosing as a gift, along with your book. If you would like a larger or framed photograph, visit Chandler’s store on Etsy, or contact me. I would be happy to send you a larger or framed version for a very small additional charge to cover those costs.

But the 5 x 7 photograph print is yours, with the autographed book when you order it here. The price of $16.95 includes the autographed book ($13.00) plus shipping, including the photograph. There will be a space for you to write the photograph number that you would like; please choose from the photos below. Thank you!

Order Now and choose from these photographs:

Photo 1

Photo 2

New Revised & Expanded Edition Available for 2011!

I can hardly believe it’s been two years since The Weight of Silence: Invisible Children of India was first published. At this two-year anniversary, I have exciting news.

The Weight of Silence has just been re-released, as an all new Revised & Expanded Edition!

Much has happened in the nearly three years since I wrote the last word of the book, and sent it off to my publisher. I have been back to India twice, and the kids have grown. Changes in their lives have happened, and I have kept up with all of them. New work has been advanced in organizations like The Miracle Foundation and Vasavya Mahila Mandali.

The new Revised & Expanded Weight of Silence includes an additional Epilogue chapter, in which I tell you what has happened in those years to Santosh, Daina, Sumitra, Yesu Babu and many of the other children both myself and my readers have grown to know and love.

I invite you to order a copy for yourself or a friend, and if you’ve already read the book, please be so kind to leave a review on the new Amazon.com page. It would be greatly appreciated!

Weight of Silence Re-Release

I have returned to India several times since writing the book - this photo was taken in October 2010.

I can’t believe it, but it’s approaching two years since The Weight of Silence: Invisible Children of India was published.

A lot has happened since then – and at the end of June, I will be announcing a re-release of the book. The updated version will have a new section at the back, with lots of new information about what is going on in the work for children’s rights in India, as well as updates about many of the children featured in the book.

Stay tuned for more information and to get your copy!

Shelley

Return to India, and new Book Review!

Shelley with the kids in India, March 2009

Tomorrow morning I board a plane headed for South Asia (first stop: Thailand), and I couldn’t be more excited. My boyfriend, Keith, and I are going to spend more than two months in Asia, including of course India, as well as Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand. We will arrive in Calcutta, India on October 21, and from there take the train down to Orissa to spend four days with my darling, beautiful children of the Sishu Sadan orphanage outside Cuttack. It’s been a year and a half since I’ve seen them, and my soul is already rushing out for Daina, Pinky, Salu, Babina, Rashikanta, Rohit and the other kids who stole my heart over five years ago, and started the entire journey of this book.

Sooch Village, The Miracle Foundation

After that, we will meet up with the Miracle Foundation volunteer group at Sooch Village, to spend a few days with the kids who are living in that wonderful children’s village full of individual cottage homes, a school, and a great lunch-and-learn program for the children in the surrounding village. I will stay on with Caroline Boudreaux for several days after that, at Sooch and at Rourkela, where many familiar faces will greet me such as Amir and Sumitra.

I will certainly be posting from India, and updating you on the children as well as sharing photographs taken during the visit. So please come back to see how they are doing and how much they’ve grown!

Before I go, I also wanted to let you know about some recent exciting happenings with The Weight of Silence. On September 23 I was featured as a return guest on Conversations Live radio show. I appeared on the show last summer, after the book’s release, and host Cyrus Webb invited me to return to discuss the issues of invisible children, and what’s been going on with the book over the last year. It was a great interview, and you can listen here if you’d like! (15 minutes).

A great new review of The Weight of Silence was also published on Luxury Reading. In part the review reads:

Author, Shelley Seale, takes us on an emotional journey, showing us the lives of children living in poverty, toiling as child laborers, and those struck with diseases such as AIDS. In the modern world, children are subconsciously taught to take for granted many basic things. Children in the slums of India truly see some of these basic things as privileges and luxuries. This book is likely to evoke feelings of heartbreak and tears of sadness, but is ultimately one of hope.”

Thank you!

So bon voyage, and the next time you hear from me will be from India.

Namaste,

Shelley