New Delhi, Jun 20 (IANS): Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Harsh Vardhan has unveiled Krishna Saksena's book "My Joys and Sorrows – as a Mother of a Special Child".

Vardhan said that he felt lucky to read this crisp book and was inspired by the simple language used by Saksena.

"This book is an epitome of the bravery and endurance of a mother, in the best tradition of Indian motherhood. Like to the country, we must pay our respects to such a mother. Not just mothers, I expect fathers to read this book to learn about parenting a child and parenting a generation", Vardhan said.

He further said that the way he worked very hard towards eradication of polio through vaccination. Similarly Covid-19 would also end soon through inoculation of all Indians.

The book will be available in bookstores and online platforms. My Joys and Sorrows as a Mother of a Special Child (Ocean Books, Delhi, 2021) is a heart-warming and yet heart-rending book that is difficult to read because it inevitably makes you cry. And yet it must be read because it shows the heroism and sacrifices of an Indian mother and makes us realise that so-called normal life is not to be taken for granted.

It is a learning and a spiritual experience reading the book. It shows the power of pure love and faith. The book is written in a conversational and easy-going style, making us feel like participants in the author's life journey.

On the journey of writing the book, Krishna Saksena recalls "I had never imagined I could have written of my life with Shiv. It felt too much my own, my most intimate experiences. But with age, I realized that it is also my responsibility to give voice to a child who has no voice of his own. And his voice is so entangled with my own that this book could not have been but an autobiography of two selves as one."

Saksena was the first woman to get a PhD degree from Lucknow University in 1955.