When Tulasi Acharya returns home to Nepal from the United States to celebrate his daughter's first birthday, he does not expect his world to be turned upside down. But when his mother-in-law dies suddenly, a joyful reunion becomes a season of mourning-and a journey through the fragile space between life and death. As his wife grieves and observes traditional rituals, Tulasi finds himself caring for his father-in-law, whose health is rapidly declining. What follows is a deeply personal account of a son-in-law's struggle to balance love, duty, and distance-caught between two continents, two families, and two ways of being. Amid hospital visits, cultural expectations, and the crushing weight of unspoken truths, Tulasi wrestles with questions of masculinity, caretaking, and how to tell someone they're dying. Set against the lush yet turbulent backdrop of Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic, Like Water on Leaves of Taro weaves together themes of loss, resilience, identity, and hope. The memoir honors sacred rituals and everyday heartbreaks, from the thirteenth-day death feast to a father's wish to spare his daughter further grief. Through poetry, reflection, and memory, the author invites readers to witness the quiet strength of family, the complexity of Nepali culture, and the universality of sorrow. This is not just a story of illness and loss-it is a meditation on what it means to be human, to mourn, to endure, and to carry love forward in a world that feels constantly in flux. For readers of When Breath Becomes Air , The Year of Magical Thinking , and The Long Goodbye , Like Water on Leaves of Taro offers a moving cross-cultural perspective on grief, devotion, and the enduring lessons of death. "Acharya takes us on a heartfelt journey into life's fragility and grief, but at every turn he reminds us that love and hope give light in dark places. Nepal may offer a foreign setting to many readers, but the emotional territory of this memoir is familiar and will reward." —Tony Grooms , Georgia Writers Hall of Fame inductee and award-winning author of Bombingham and The Vain Conversation "In Like Water on Leaves of Taro , Tulasi Acharya approaches personal loss with both emotional honesty and intellectual depth. Weaving his family's private sorrow with the global tragedy of theCOVID-19 pandemic, Acharya explores the limits of human endurance through a kaleidoscope of cultural, generational, and spiritual perspectives. His prose is mesmerizing—soft, lyrical, and deeply affecting. Acharya beautifully portrays the love and respect that binds his family, tenderly illustrating their struggle to make sense of a dark and complex world. With arresting clarity, he plunges readers into the vivid landscape of grief and the universal need to find meaning in loss. Ultimately, this memoir offers a stirring testament to the healing power of reflection, memory, and hope." — The Book Life Prize "Like Water on Leaves of Taro ," Tulasi Acharya's poignant memoir invites readers into a deeply personal story shaped by love, loss, and the shifting ground beneath a family caught between continents and generations. With lyrical honesty, Tulasi reflects on fatherhood, grief, and the rituals that hold us together—even as the world around us unravels. Set against the rich landscape of Nepal and shadowed by a global pandemic, this is a moving meditation on resilience, responsibility, and the fragile beauty of everyday life." — Robert Gwaltney , award-winning author of The Cicada Tree "In Like Water on Leaves of Taro , while Acharya's homecoming is filled with frustration and grief, readers, especially those mourning the loss of a relative or friend, will appreciate and find comfort in his quiet reflection on what gives his life real substance and meaning—good health, being present to the moment, and cherishing and remembering those he loves." — Kristine F. Anderson , author of the award-winning Crooked Truth and the award-winning Crooked Lines "Like Water on Leaves of Taro is an incredibly heartbreaking memoir that tells of the shared experiences of a family coming to terms with an unimaginable and untimely loss. This memoir is a poignant read." — Elizabeth Howard , Assistant Branch Manager Calhoun-Gordon County Library "Acharya's marvelous memoir uncovers with deft words the slicing and severing of life that death brings both in quickness and slow motion. The writer watches death and through its misery sees seeds of hope sown as the continuance of life like blades of grass growing through the cracked concrete of grief tug and pulls his family back from the brink of an abyss that threated to suck them into despair. In Acharya's heartfelt ode to death, he reminds us that the dead live on, and in quiet moments they return, and joy tinged with sadness returns with the inevitable mourning." —Dr. Kay Traille , Professor History Education at Kennesaw State University "Like Water on Leaves of Taro: A Himalayan Memo