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Lakshmi Iyer

Goodreads Author

Website

http://lgiyer.com

Twitter

lakshgiri

Genre

Children's, Fiction, Memoir

Member Since

September 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/glaksh

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Lakshmi G. Iyer is a Tamil American essayist writing about open transracial adoption from the Indian American adoptive parent side. She is a brown mother raising white children, in contact with both birth families since 2010. Her essays press on the money silence, the reverse gaze, and what birth family relationships in open adoption look like at year eighteen rather than year one.

She is the author of the essay collection The Smudged Hyphen: Essays on Family, Identity, and the Art of Belonging (2026); the middle-grade Why Is My Hair Curly? (Westland / Red Panda, 2020), about a young Tamil girl trying to understand where her curls came from, with its companion Why Is My Skin Brown? (Westland / Red Panda, 2026); and the novels Hindsight (2024 ...more

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Lakshmi Iyer’s books

Average rating: 4.38 · 205 ratings · 64 reviews · 10 distinct works • Similar authors

	Why is My Hair Curly? 4.34 avg rating — 156 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Desi Modern Love: An Anthology of True Stories by Ranjani Rao (Goodreads Author), Nandini Patwardhan (Goodreads Author), Kalpana Mohan 4.65 avg rating — 17 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hindsight 4.59 avg rating — 17 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I Am Strength!: True Stories of Everyday Superwomen by Alyssa Waugh (Editor), Martha Frankel (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Lakshmi Iyer (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.10 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2018 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Star Keeps Its Distance really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 7 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	emerge 16: the Writer's Studio Anthology by The Writer's Studio (Editor), Lakshmi Iyer (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Raoul Fernandes (Goodreads Author) (Foreword) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Smudged Hyphen: Essays on Family, Identity, and the Art of Belonging 3.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Why is My Skin Brown? really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I AM STRENGTH: True Stories of Everyday Superwomen it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pearls on Marble 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Lakshmi Iyer's Blog

Maybe Another Time

My twins passed up a weekend with their birth mother for their last Halloween as seniors. Seventeen years of open adoption, in one shrug.

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Published on October 24, 2026 10:25

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Lakshmi is Currently Reading

Lakshmi is currently reading

Accidentally Married (Reluctant Romances, #1)

by Andaleeb Wajid (Goodreads Author)

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Oct 08, 2026 01:08PM

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Lakshmi’s Recent Updates

Lakshmi Iyer wrote a new blog post Maybe Another Time My twins passed up a weekend with their birth mother for their last Halloween as seniors. Seventeen years of open adoption, in one shrug.
Oct 25, 2026 04:32AM · like
Lakshmi wants to read You Can't Be Serious by Cathy Yardley (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Lakshmi is currently reading Accidentally Married (Reluctant Romances, #1) by Andaleeb Wajid (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 08, 2026 01:08PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Accidentally Married by Andaleeb Wajid. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Accidentally Married by Andaleeb Wajid <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Lakshmi rated a book it was amazing Why is My Skin Brown? by Lakshmi Iyer (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 21, 2026 03:57AM · like
Lakshmi rated a book it was amazing Why is My Skin Brown? by Lakshmi Iyer (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 13, 2026 10:36AM · like
Lakshmi Iyer is accepting questions on their profile page.
Jul 13, 2026 07:22AM · Be the first to ask Lakshmi Iyer a question
Lakshmi rated a book it was amazing Appalachian Elegy: Poetry and Place (Kentucky Voices) by bell hooks	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 25, 2026 10:56AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Appalachian Elegy by bell hooks. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Appalachian Elegy by bell hooks <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Lakshmi wants to read Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh: Indias Lonely Young Women and the Search for Intimacy and Independence by Shrayana Bhattacharya	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Lakshmi wants to read The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 19, 2026 01:59PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Lakshmi wants to read At the Broken Places: A Mother and Trans Son Pick Up the Pieces (Queer Action/Queer Ideas, a Unique Series Addressing Pivotal Issues Within the Lgbtq Movement) by Mary Collins (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 19, 2026 01:59PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of At the Broken Places by Mary Collins. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — At the Broken Places by Mary Collins <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">