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Lally Pia, MD, is an author and a child and adolescent psychiatrist. In November 2022, her memoir, The Fortune Teller’s Prophecy: A Memoir of an Unlikely Doctor, won a publishing contract (SparkPress Toward Equality in Publishing). She is a member of the Davis Writers Salon, the California Writers Club (Sacramento), the Elk Grove Writers Guild, and the Fremont Area Writers Group. Her video Day in the Life of a Psychiatrist has 65,000 online views. In 2022, she received an Honorable Mention in a Writers Digest competition. In October 2022, she was a finalist in the nationwide talent search for America’s Next Great Author. Her article about a stroke was published in the Davis Enterprise in May 2023. She is a Doximity Op-Med writer. She has lived for the past 40 years with her family in Davis, California.
Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
In Lally Pia's memoir, The Fortune Teller's Prophecy, Lally, a Ghanaian medical student, faces a critical decision during a military coup. Despite her initial plan to join her family in the U.S., red tape delays her move, and she finds refuge with the Clayden family, later settling in Wales while awaiting a visa resolution. She bonds with John, a friend of the Claydens, which becomes a significant and deeply complex aspect of her life's journey. Eventually, she returns to California, adapting to American life while facing financial challenges, loss, a marriage perpetually on the brink of collapse, roadblocks in her ultimate goal of becoming a doctor, and the fulfillment of a legacy prophesied years prior that Lally must fight for at every turn.
As an immigrant myself from a third world country to England, Lally Pia's memoir, The Fortune Teller's Prophecy, immediately stood out from a crowded pack of memoirs by people most readers do not know. I do not believe that the reality of “the American Dream” is anything near what Americans imagine it to be. Lally's memoir is a testament to both the intense work it takes to achieve it and the sacrifices she made that would be unthinkable to the average American fortunate enough to be born into that dream. The writing is clean and concise and reads like a conversation rather than a series of events, which is effective in drawing readers in on a personal level. Lally's medical school experiences and the chance of a love redo are the standout evolution of her life, when the tide starts to turn, and given everything she describes going through to get there, it is a heartening moment that inspires and feels just plain good to read. Excellent, excellent work. Very highly recommended.
