Sudhir reviews Suchita Vanessa Smith’s recently published book
This book is neither romantic nor glamourous. That’s why I like it. It is disconcertingly real. That’s what makes it so strong.
At birth Suchita was gifted a difficult body to live in. Her bones and joints are prone to mini-dislocations and breakages. They have an inbuilt tendency to deliver pain – acute and chronic. She was born with a rare health condition called pseudo-achondroplasia. It affects the growth at the ends of the limbs and joints (cartilage and bone). It is degenerative, and leads to a smaller stature, shorter bones, joints and cartilage, which in turn results in painful arthritis, and misshapen and vulnerable joints. Suchita is 137 centimeters tall. To be in her body often hurts.
The last time I saw Suchita was at the Womadelaide world music festival a few years ago. We hadn’t seen each other for years. She nearly leapt out of her mobility device to give me a hug, which to me says everything. This woman is so full of life and love, no matter what has come down the highway in her direction. I was shocked to discover she has also by now lost her vocal strength. Her voice is a whisper.
Little Body, Huge Life tracks Suchita’s journey through childhood, school, university, career (multiple careers actually) into the world of Osho.
I lived in Western Australia for many years. I got a small glimpse into her life from a distance. I was always a little in awe of her, but never really got the full backstory. This wonderful book fills in the gaps.
I arrived in Western Australia in 1985. I remember Suchita in the Osho commune. I soon learned that she was an environmental scientist, responsible for the care and management of a swathe of wild south-west Western Australian forest. I remember seeing her regularly hopping into her car and disappearing to the south to work.
I also remember being in a therapy group with her and noting the courage she had in there, despite her physical discomfort. I was impressed with what she brought into the room. I watched her confront the very real issues that were facing her around love, sex, relationship, judgement, and acceptance. I was always wowed by her feistiness, her daring and her willingness to dive right in – and her laughter!
Later on, I watched her pick herself up after having to forgo her environmental science work because it just got too hard – and turn into a radio producer and interviewer for RTR FM. For years she interviewed a throng of inspirational people every week. Quotes from some of the people she interviewed run through her book.
Suchita also turned into a DJ, running the incredibly successful Zorbas Dance Club in Fremantle for years. She was happy beyond measure as she bopped away behind her desk helping people ride wave upon wave of ecstasy and connection on the dance floor. I always loved it when she pulled out world music tracks that shifted my dance into unexplored places, with exotic beats and feels. I wasn’t aware of the amount of struggle and pain that she was moving through in her daily life to get there and be her best self.
Suchita has written a great book, demonstrating just how solid the alchemy of love and awareness is. She has turned challenge after challenge into something rich and real. What I am most impressed by in Suchita’s book, along with her courage, is the sheer goodness of the people around her who continue to support her with authenticity, generosity and a total lack of all the usual fear and judgement that often rides in parallel with people experiencing significant physical challenges.
Her connection with the inner space she has tasted around Osho, with Osho’s community, with Osho’s therapists (most notably his bodyworkers) and Osho’s meditations (along with a suite of other amazing humans) has helped her turn her challenges into a life story that is remarkable.
Acceptance and awareness really do have the capacity to transform us. Suchita’s life and journey is evidence. In this book she describes excruciating experiences of physical pain she somehow managed to turn around into something wise, creative and good. Talk about resilience. She has it in spades. When she couldn’t find clothes, she turned into a clothes designer. None of the above prevented her from going to the Ranch, going to Pune, travelling around south-east Asia and finding refuge in Bali. When she couldn’t speak clearly, destroying her career as a radio announcer, she wrote a book – this book.
I would thoroughly recommend reading this book as a reminder of just how alchemic Osho’s presence and community is; how extraordinary his therapies and the bodywork created around him is, and how much goodness there is in the hearts of those who joined his caravan with all their heart and soul. This is an inspiring tale of someone who is in a constant process of turning mundane challenges into magic with acceptance, self-love and awareness. Fetch yourself a copy!
Read an excerpt
Little Body, Huge Life
Finding Freedom in Any Body
by Suchita Vanessa Smith
littlebodyhugelife.wordpress.com – facebook.com/LittleBodyHugeLife
Kindle and paperback
Castle Mount Media GmbH, February 2026, 274 pages
ISBN-13: 978-3948615444
ASIN: B0GPQB52HH
Booktopia.com.au
Amazon *
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