At Least You Have Your Health

Sinha follows up The White Coat Diaries with a perceptive account of a present-day Philadelphia gynecologist who empathizes with her patients about the difficulties of being a woman. Maya Rao dreams of providing community education on sexual health and anatomy but struggles with the demands of parenthood and disappointment from her working-class Indian immigrant parents about her marriage and career choices. After Maya has an interaction with a patient that she interprets as racist and sexist, she impulsively quits, and later joins Eunoia, a private wellness clinic run by the wealthy Amelia DeGilles, the mother of one of her child’s classmates. Gradually, the healthcare practices of her new clients, such as their preference for natural birth, lead Maya to question her career move and confront her reluctance about returning to obstetrics. Sinha convincingly explores Maya’s struggle between family, work, and self-fulfillment, and offers cogent social commentary on privilege, parenting, and the patriarchy (“women doctors: all the compassion and emotional burnout, none of the power or influence”). A side plot involving Amelia’s daughter and an unexplained illness provides emotional weight, though its denouement borders on the absurd. Nevertheless, Sinha gives readers plenty to chew on. Agent: Jessica Watterson, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (Apr.)