sonia patel

CHECK OUT THIS LIT PODCAST EPISODE!

Full Episode #149 It’s Lit with PHDJ featuring Sonia Patel

This @itslitwithphdj podcast episode #149 just dropped! https://itslitwithphdj.wordpress.com/2022/04/02/sonia-patel/

Check it out for some nonviolent-hip-hop-YA resistance that be like 16-year-old Rani spittin,’ “My daddy’s gone. And I’m so done looking for another one.”

(Caveat: I hope readers/listeners will feel how difficult it is for Rani to liberate herself from her brain’s hardwiring to be groomed by older narcissistic/predator men like her father. Unlike Rani, most survivors of chronic childhood abuse DON’T gain insight/awareness into the abuse, or even disclose it, until the 3rd or 4th decade of life because the abuse has physically damaged and scarred their brains. But then RANI PATEL IN FULL EFFECT would’ve been a very different novel.)

My love & gratitude to hosts @pbanjoli & @jocelynkng for this opportunity. If you missed any episodes, catch up at https://itslitwithphdj.wordpress.com/

Shout out to @joannagordy for connecting me with these awesome podcasting humans!

Also, check out the podcast’s origin story: https://anjoliroy.com/bibliography/lit-on-radio-waves-holding-space-in-hawaii/


Mental Health in Hawaii: Coronavirus & Quarantine

Check out this great article in Civil Beat by Brittany Lyte. https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/03/coronavirus-is-spiking-levels-of-anxiety-panic-and-stress/ I’m grateful to be included!

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https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/03/coronavirus-is-spiking-levels-of-anxiety-panic-and-stress/


FORTUNATE TO BE PART OF THIS GREAT PODCAST FROM CINCO PUNTOS PRESS!

“From the El Paso-based indie publisher, Cinco Puntos Press. Writers talk with each other about their books. This episodes features Sonia Patel, author of BLOODY SEOUL, chatting with Jacqueline Briggs Martin and June Jo Lee, co-authors of CHEF ROY CHOI AND THE STREET FOOD REMIX from Readers To Eaters. They had a wonderful conversation about the connection and comfort food can bring us, the concept of sohn maash in Korean culture, why we should make the world bigger instead of trying to fit in, and many more great things!”

Giddy in all the good feels from this BLOODY SEOUL review in CLEAVER LITERARY MAGAZINE

I appreciate this review by a strong advocate of diverse children’s books…

https://www.cleavermagazine.com/bloody-seoul-a-young-adult-novel-by-sonia-patel-reviewed-by-kristie-gadson/

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BLOODY SEOUL
by Sonia Patel
Cinco Puntos Press, 276 Pages
reviewed by Kristie Gadson

To Rocky, the city of Seoul is truly something to behold. Sprawling skyscrapers dare to kiss the sky, thousands of lights rival the sun at night, and millions of people bustle through at any given moment, while the Han River remains a calm force through it all. And it will soon be his to rule, just like his father, the leader of the city’s most notorious gang, Three Star Pa.

However, despite Rocky being the sole heir and next in line to become the big boss, his father refuses to turn the gang over to him. Frustrated, Rocky isn’t entirely surprised. It’s one of too many unanswered questions that plague him, especially since his mother’s faded memory threatens to slice the edges of his own mind like a knife.

Aim. Throw.
Sixteen times, one for every year of my life.
Aim. Throw.
Ten times, one for every year mom’s been gone. 
Aim. Throw. 
Ten times, one for every year Dad’s been the most pissed off person I’ve ever known.

In Sonia Patel’s poetic, fast-paced and electrifying second novel Bloody Seoul, the thread of Rocky’s past unravels the life he has carefully planned. Molding his life to mirror his father’s, he leads his own Three Star Pa gang made up of his closest friends. He beats up his weaker classmates, fist fights to defend his turf against rival gangs, and torments Ha-Na, a mixed Korean and Indian girl whom he regards as an easy target. Rocky’s life is structured to form the future he desires; but his mind frequently dives into the pool of reverie, where the ghost of his missing mother beckons and the needles of his fractured family sting.

What makes Rocky’s story so tangible is how Patel invokes memory and stitches it throughout the first-person narrative. Rocky’s past comes forth by means of his senses: he sees a family photo and remembers a time when his father was happy, he feels his mother’s love within the careful stitch work of the handkerchief he keeps, and smells her scent when he smokes her favorite brand of cigarettes. He also hears her humming when he plays his favorite songs and feels the presence of his uncles when he eats their favorite dishes. Memory is naturally triggered by the five senses, and Patel uses these to further develop Rocky’s character and have us connect with him.

The memories of his past reveal many open wounds, forcing Rocky to confront his father about what really happened to his uncles, his mother, and their family. But his father answers Rocky’s questions with threats and bruises, a direct violation of the first code of Three Star Pa: Family comes first. Family is to be protected at all costs. His father’s blatant disregard of that code forces Rocky to realize his father’s true nature and the lengths his father will go to get what he wants.

There are many ways I’m like my dad, many ways I want to be like my dad, but killing people isn’t one of them.

Patel’s writing shines. Her words flow across the page like a poem – descriptive yet succinct, observant of an entire world in so few phrases. Her writing style reflects Rocky’s character. It is observant, wastes no time equivocating, and takes everything in while focusing on what’s most important with sharp precision. The language may seem shallow at first – like Rocky’s perception of his own life and goals – but the more Rocky plunges into his memories, the deeper the language pulls readers in.

Patel explores how the interconnectivity of memory and family shapes one’s identity. Rocky’s identity is hugely shaped by his relation to his father and Three Star Pa, which had always remained unchallenged. Memories of his past and, most importantly, of his mother undermine this identity, causing it to crack and break. His journey toward redefining himself is a difficult one that readers can relate to. Who are we if not an extension of our family? When memories of a difficult past cause us to break away from our families, how do we go about defining ourselves without them? And who do we let in to our chosen family?

To these questions, Rocky learns there is no easy answer. Discovering who we are is simply that: discovery. And there is no end to it. It’s a journey with no set destination, and in the face of hardship all we can do – all we must do – is keep moving forward. Bloody Seoul teaches us this lesson through colorful and subtly powerful storytelling, gripping readers from beginning to end. A one-of-a-kind read.

New life just around the bend.
More happiness than I can comprehend.

◊◊

Kristie Gadson is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor’s in English. But, formalities aside, she knew that children’s books would become her passion when she found herself sneaking into the children’s section of Barnes & Noble well after she turned eighteen. She is a strong advocate for diverse children’s books, and writes diverse children’s book reviews on her blog The Black Sheep Book Review.

STOP TELLING US WE'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH

A local radio station has been touting all day about their contest that gives away free breast augmentation based on social media votes for “you and your best friend”—“breast friend”—courtesy of a cosmetic surgery clinic. As a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, I’m here to tout fierce opposition to this contest.

I’m a feminist MD so I support women in making personal, informed decisions about their lives, including about abortion or going under the knife for breast augmentation. What I don’t support are the beauty and gender norms imposed on women by society, often patriarchy. And when a man’s voice proclaims to my teenagers and I on our morning commute how me and my best friend can win boob jobs based on how many likes we get on the radio station’s Instagram page, he’s really telling me that my friend and I are not good enough the way we are. Even if he doesn’t intend to send that message, it will be the lesson learned by some vulnerable people. It’s as if he’s telling your daughter, your sister, your niece, your mother, your student, your employee that she is not good enough the way she is.

Maybe I should thank the radio station and the cosmetic surgery clinic. I mean their degrading, damaging, misogynistic message will keep me in business. A majority of the young women and girls I treat are already scarred by social media comparisons, some of them rocked to core with how inadequate they feel every single time they scroll, and now you’re encouraging them to send in photos of themselves and their best friends so they can be judged online more than they already are. Only if they’re deemed worthy enough by a bunch of random people will they be qualified to get the look that is set forth by the western beauty myth.

But I will not thank you. I don’t want more business. I want a world where the young women and girls I treat will feel good enough just because they already are good enough. I want a world where women and girls will be encouraged to speak, disagree, earn, change policy, and be president. I want a world where my teenage daughter isn’t reduced to a body. I want a world where my teenage son isn’t bombarded with hyper-sexualized images and lyrics of women—and now, radio contest announcements that lure women to their very own best in show—that might train him to think of his future girlfriend as nothing more than an object were it not for the protective way my husband and I raise him.

I want a world where I can turn on the radio and no man will ever tell his listeners how women and girls can be better. Because here’s the truth—we already are.




WHAT I'D TELL MY YOUNGER SELF REGARDING SUICIDAL THOUGHTS

I made this video for the Child Mind Institute. I’m grateful to be a part of their #myyoungerself project.

Child Mind Institute

Published on Apr 20, 2019

Sonia Patel is a physician and author. Patel is psychiatrist in Oahu and is passionate about helping teens work through emotionl obstacles. She is also the author of several books including, "Rani Patel in Full Effect," and "Jaya and Rasa: A Love Story."

#MyYoungerSelf by Child Mind Institute is an anti-stigma campaign. We are grateful to Sonia for her willingness to open up about her childhood experience with anxiety and depression.

ABOUT CHILD MIND INSTITUTE As an independent, national nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders, we deliver the highest standards of care, advance the science of the developing brain, and empower parents, professionals, and policymakers to support children when and where they need it most.