The Indian Mother-in-Law’s Survival Guide

For every mother-in-law wondering how she became the villain, and for every daughter-in-law wondering what goes on in her MIL’s head.

Indian mothers-in-law have been cast as the villains of the family drama for generations. But what happens when the woman holding the sari pallu on one side of the generational divide is also trying to navigate changing ideas of marriage, motherhood, independence, and family?

The Indian Mother-in-Law’s Survival Guide turns the tables with humour, honesty, and a generous helping of self-deprecation.

Drawing on psychology, real-life experiences, and anecdotes spanning three generations, renowned author Preetha Rajah Kannan explores what it means to be a modern Indian mother-in-law caught between the joint-family world she grew up in and the nuclear-family world her children have chosen.