She was tucked away on the other side of the office, far from the maddening software developers. We feared her. For her job was to make sense of all the development chatter and put it in common-speak. She first had to sit us down – the developers who only knew byte-speak and then get us to understand the ‘importance of being earnest’ with our products. And she did a fine job with it both ways. She was the keeper and demander of equality and respect for all genders and all jobs. She was a Chief of sorts – Chief Technical Writer with her lean and mean team, even as Technical Writing was still evolving into a profession in the internet era. She was funny and extremely confident. She was a ready reckoner – for enjoying food/wine/life, child birth/rearing, in-laws (and husband) handling, cooking – she had a manual for everything.
Those were the finest software development years early in my career. Susan had a fighting spirit and made us fiercer than we already were as women. We were surrounded by some of the finest women in that workplace. Fast forward to 2019, and a chosen 4 – a Director, a dancer, an investor and a writer go on this fantabulous journey through the Valley of Flowers in the Himalayas.
The result is a captivating tale of their journey and a very detailed guide for a reader who cares to feast on some of the most beautiful parts of the Himalayas. The pictures are breathtaking, the flow charts are truly tasteful and very useful. And the subtle humor in writing is signature Susan.
To all my hiker friends (there are many) you will enjoy this. Valley of Flowers is on my wish-list for next summer or I will trail along wherever this Bevy heads next. Susan Jagannath – you are an inspiration.
PS : Anybody interested in the Camino Ingles : 6 Days to Santiago was Susan’s first book, also from experience.
Ushi's Take 
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