It has been twenty-four hours since Layla last had cocaine. The blonde American now on a flight to New Delhi with her one white child and one brown child is struggling to keep it together. As she departs the airplane, all she can focus on is how quickly she can hook up with her friend and drug baron Leonardo so he can provide her with her next fix.
Layla, a flower child of the 1960s, has travelled around the world in search of a utopian land. Her life story begins with her wild rock and roll years in New York and continues on to tell of her hippie days in San Francisco and Goa where hippies of the world converged to partake in a bohemian lifestyle. Here, her heady ways were combined with a few unfortunate incidents and wrong choices, ultimately leading her to her spiritual awakening, but not before paying a dear price.
This compelling story line weaves 1960s and 70s style hedonism, Indian culture, drugs, family, devastation, passion, spirituality, and endearing characters into an engaging tale. The author takes you on a journey of vivid impressions, bringing to life the spirit of a lost era.
Layla in the Sky with Diamonds by Manbeena Bhullar Sandhu follows one woman’s journey around the world in search of peace, love, and joy. The story takes a fascinating approach of beginning with Layla’s downfall and then divulging her winding back-story. Layla’s spiritual journey brings to life the narrative of the turbulent, multifaceted 1960s. During the heyday of the flower-power movement, the New-York-socialite turned San-Francisco-hippie ultimately travels throughout Europe and India in search of fulfillment. For Layla and many others, “the Golden Gate city was becoming a melting pot of psychedelic music, drugs, and a total lack of social and sexual inhibitions.” Abundant open drug use and a consistent theme of tragic death throughout the text set this book apart and make it ideal for a mature audience. From the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy to substantial drug overdoses, “the age of free love was dying down and barely breathing, and the dark demon of death seemed to be towering over it, stifling it.” Layla’s ill-fated downward spiral encompasses all of the notorious, mind-blowing characters from the last half of the 20th century, including marijuana, cocaine, LSD, and heroin. In spite of her shortcomings and missteps, Layla is an endearing character with whom readers will rejoice and lament. The heartbreaks she experiences will leave readers with tears in their eyes. However, her prosperity and joys in life will bring a smile to many readers’ faces. Those reading Layla in the Sky with Diamonds will come to appreciate the “beautiful celestial maiden, not of this earth but of heaven, dancing somewhere in the clouds above…Layla, the apsara, dancing in the sky with diamonds.” Manbeena Bhullar Sandhu has created a beautifully intriguing tale of adventure, travel, love, and loss. Readers will discover an admirable journey through life and around the world in Layla in the Sky with Diamonds.
Reviewed By: Jessica Tingling
Author Manbeena Bhullar Sandhu announces release of ‘Layla in the Sky with Diamonds’
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario (PRWEB) March 02, 2017
It has been 24 hours since Layla last had cocaine. Now on a flight to New Delhi with her children, all she can focus on is how quickly she can hook up with her friend and drug baron Leonardo so he can provide her with her next fix – unaware of the intergenerational damage her choices will cause.
Manbeena Bhullar Sandhu’s new novel, “Layla in the Sky with Diamonds” (published by Archway Publishing), weaves 1960s and ’70s-style hedonism, Indian culture, drugs, family and spirituality in a tale that illuminates “how indulgence leads to suffering and suffering leads to wisdom and how generations can shape generations in that relation.”
“We are far from the age of flower power generation. Though those times were exciting, nevertheless that generation made many mistakes due to over indulgence and unrealistic expectations,” Sandhu explains. “Generations shape the following generations.”
While the book offers readers a sense of nostalgia for a long-lost era, the destruction Layla’s addiction creates serves as the literary hangover of a generation’s carelessness. Weaving various cultures with characters who keep trying to make sense of the often chaotic world around them, “Layla in the Sky with Diamonds” offers a cautionary glimpse into the human condition.
“Layla in the Sky with Diamonds”
By Manbeena Bhullar Sandhu
Hardcover | 5.5 x 8.5 in | 194 pages | ISBN 9781480841925
Softcover | 5.5 x 8.5 in | 194 pages | ISBN 9781480841918
E-Book | 184 pages | ISBN 9781480841901
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the Author
Manbeena Bhullar Sandhu holds a degree in substance abuse and addictions, and a master’s degree in English literature. She is an addictions counselor and currently lives in Toronto. “Layla in the Sky with Diamonds” is her first book.
Simon & Schuster, a company with nearly ninety years of publishing experience, has teamed up with Author Solutions, LLC, the leading self-publishing company worldwide, to create Archway Publishing. With unique resources to support books of all kind, Archway Publishing offers a specialized approach to help every author reach his or her desired audience. For more information, visit archwaypublishing.com or call 888-242-5904.
