Jennifer Chloe Braun
Fictionalizing reality
by Heidi M. Pascual
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Morgan Sengupta, who tried to escape an abusive relationship. "It started as an idea for a book contest about a
strange cultural custom," Braun reflected in an interview with Asian Wisconzine. "In India, marriages are still
arranged in some families, and it seems the more rural, the more traditional it is. When parents arrange the
wedding -- and they're not necessarily rich people -- they borrow money to pay for the dowry and many times, when
the marriage is about to take place, the groom's side demands more money. The bride's side will promise, 'OK,
we'll get you the money within the year, but please let's go on with the ceremony.' So many times within the year,
when they are unable to come up with that money, the in-laws will nag at the bride, 'What kind of family do you
have? They don't give us enough money.' There are many times the woman will be put to death. They'll burn her or
push her into the well to just get rid of her. And they'll say, 'She was cooking and her clothes caught on fire.' But this
happens so frequently, you have to ask yourself if it is truly an accident or was this done intentionally. Nobody is
going to fight for these women because they're very expendable. You read this story of bride burning all the time.
So I started writing but I never finished it, and I didn't enter the contest. Then I started doing more research on bride
burning and writing from my own memory some of the stories I have heard. The story started developing on its
own. 'Hurdy Gurdy' is the story of one woman, but I took the stories of many women and rolled them all into one. I
fictionalized it, but it wasn't really fiction. It was taken from many life experiences: women with alcoholic husbands,
domineering mothers-in-law, and living in a joint family."
Braun was born in Calcutta, India of Armenian parents, studied journalism at the University of London, and
worked for the British Consulate in Chicago where she met her future husband, Leo. They returned to India to do
missionary work, and for 12 years, Braun worked with poor women and children, listening to their stories and
helping them improve their lot. "I taught English and then after they got to know me better, they would talk about
their personal lives. I found that many of them were in very abusive situations, so it was a matter of trying to help
them cope with that or sometimes getting them out of it, or just rescuing them. We had a huge home, so we were
able to shelter them in our house."
Braun and her husband's missionary work didn't stop when the family moved to the U.S., first to Evansville and
later to Madison, Wis. "We moved to Madison because the former pastor of our church in Chicago was pastoring
High Point Church," Braun recalled. "Leo went on to do counseling; and got his master's in Biblical Counseling.
Our two kids were growing, so we never went back to India. We didn't want to uproot them anymore. By the time we
were ready to go back, too many years had gone by. We've settled here, and I have found my dream job at
Edgewood (College). I like Madison; it's feels like a suburb of Chicago."
Braun continues to write every day, after getting home from work. In fact, her second novel, "Blind Spot," a mystery
novel, has just been published by Amazon. Braun teamed with Lynette Rebeiro on this book that features police
detective Hugh Walters, formerly of Calcutta, now retired in the Himalayan town of Darjeeling. "I guess because my
father was in the police force, I heard lots of stories about crooked people, so I kind of turned some of that into a
story," Braun said. "Lynette is a very close friend who lives in Canada. She helped put some of the ethnic flavor and
local customs and culture in the story. She also did a lot of proofing and editing." 'Blind Spot" promises to be an
enjoyable and interesting read, especially for expatriates from India because of familiar places and things. Braun
said she had fun writing this book and that she's giving all its proceeds to charity.
Another book that she started 15 years ago is yet to be finished. "It's about the India-Pakistan partition, after
Independence when the British left and many small communities were left behind," Braun explained. "It's about
that era. It's fiction but there's a lot of history in that -- what it was and how it is now. It was a lovely place to live in,
probably still is, a great place to live. There were so many European communities living in India -- they came
because the British were ruling, but when the British left and India was divided, many of these people lost their
jobs, their property and even some of their loved ones. A lot of families were shattered. I've been observing all
these different things going on -- how people had to leave, people who'd lived there for generations. It's been an
effort."
As if writing books isn't enough, Braun is now partnering with husband Leo in writing people's memoirs. "We
started this little company called the Yesteryear Company," Braun said. "You know, a lot of people want to leave
their legacy for their children, their life stories. So since I'm a writer and Leo is very good at getting people to talk
about themselves, we're putting those two together. He'll do all the questions, then I will edit and put it all together.
I've been doing it for individuals for a while now, five or six years. But then the more we talk about it, we thought it
would be a good thing to do if we work together. (Our son) Johnny has been designing brochures and is very, very
good at it. Maybe he'll help us put the book together with pictures, or whatever people want to put in their memoirs."
Braun's books haven't made Jennifer Chloe a financial success (not yet) but she enjoys writing -- which is her
passion -- and loves to share it with the rest of the world, regardless. "Writing is something I love to do," Braun
said. "It comes easy to me. So if there is something you love to do, just do it, even if it means writing a book and
giving it away to your friends. I will keep on doing it."
Expect more books and memoirs coming up from Braun. Expect them to be extraordinary, exceptional reading,
thought-provoking, and a source of strength and inspiration.
For information on how to obtain an autographed copy of J. Chloe's books, and to read an excerpt, please visit
www.jchloebraun.com. (All proceeds from the sale of Blind Spot will go to the Tiljallah Relief Fund which benefits
elderly and needy Anglo-Indians in India.)
It has been said that a writer's personal experiences have the most
significant influence on his or her creative work. Jennifer Chloe Braun, author
of "Hurdy Gurdy" and "Blind Spot" says it's quite natural to have picked up
things here and there from one's exposure to life; however, it's also an
accepted fact that the author's creative genius puts different elements
together in a beautifully woven story to make it interesting reading.
Her first novel, "Hurdy Gurdy," is a tragic story of a brave woman, Bronwyn