We Are Not These Bodies

“Can an individual life be an offering? What begins as an origin myth becomes an act of discovery, in which the search for meaning becomes inseparable from the mystery it tries to define. Astonishing.”—Paul Lisicky, author of Song So Wild and Blue

“Fascinating, complex, and nuanced, We Are Not These Bodies shatters stereotypes of Indian Americans.”—Sejal Shah, author of How to Make Your Mother Cry: Fictions

“Bursting with the kind of planetary adventure that will make you put your hand over your heart and surrender to the mystery. A book to fold in your back pocket or slip into your backpack. This one just might contain the meaning of life.”—Greg Marshall, author of Leg: The Story of a Limb and the Boy Who Grew from It

“Nautiyal writes with confidence and joy in this luminous braid of Hinduism, science, history, and his immigrant family. A fierce, monumentally wise, and deeply moving collection.”—Madhushree Ghosh, author of Khabaar: An Immigrant Journey of Food, Memory, and Family

“An earnest exploration of familial, cultural, spiritual, and literary inheritance. In each essay Kirtan Nautiyal endeavors to better understand himself and the myriad forces that shape his identity.”—Neema Avashia, author of Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place

“Refreshing and unexpected. Kirtan Nautiyal’s vulnerability stitches together a true and original narrative.”—Dustin Parsons, author of Exploded View: Essays on Fatherhood, with Diagrams

“Fascinating stories lie within other fascinating stories as Nautiyal reaches backward to find his way forward in this entirely relatable search for place and meaning on 'this anthill, this Earth.'”—Stephanie Clare Smith, author of Everywhere the Undrowned: A Memoir of Survival and Imagination