Life Happens, and Death Too is the second collection of stories and poems by Latika Mangrulkar that focus on issues of trans-national identity. The men and women who inhabit these thematically connected stories and poems belong to different generations. As they try to maintain their balance in the new world, universal dilemmas of control, desire, integration and displacement preoccupy them. A number of these contemporary tales ripple with undercurrents of Indian mythology. Every section of the book links verse and prose, moving the reader across varied urban, suburban, local, and trans-national landscapes. The stories happen on multiple levels, blending Western realities with echoes of Indian sensibilities, creating a distinctive rhythm. Life Happens in strange ways, but we see that death does too, as these characters experience tragic, comic, at times even surreal moments. Originally from India, Latika Mangrulkar writes in three languages. She is a social worker/educator who lives in the San Francisco area. Mangrulkar is currently working on Cruising along the Culinary Channel: South Asian Stories around the Kitchen Table as well as another volume of short fiction. Publisher's website: http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/LifeHappensAndDeathToo.html