Anu Vaidyanathan’s book, `Anywhere but Home,’ is an enjoyable read.

The language is simple and the narration, direct.

The author, who is a well-known triathlete, provides a breezy overview of her life. The choices made are stated as such without recourse to justification. Doing so, both triathlon and life in Anu Vaidyanathan’s book, are beautifully devoid of labored explanation. There is no manufactured heroism or manual on how to succeed, except perhaps what lingers obliquely as an idea of person (who is also triathlete). One of the great reliefs I found reading this book was its treatment of athlete’s life without making it seem extraordinary. The writing transcends given sport to underlying qualities.

The book spans growing up in India; studying overseas, the difference between here and there, managing a business, pursuing a PhD, the question of “ who am I?’’ and within all that – an engagement with the triathlon. It is a packed life; a triathlon of a life wherein the sport appears to have given physical expression to a person’s nature. Many outdoor and athletic pursuits inspire the need to progressively lighter one’s view to essentials. When `essentials’ becomes ink for writing, the pages turn. That’s so with this book.

Buy it, read it.

(The author, Shyam G Menon, is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai.)