Author Anand Priya Deo to Launch Follow Your Heart at the UN Premises in Geneva

What does it take to leave a familiar career and pursue a different understanding of success? Anand Priya Deo explores this question in Follow Your Heart, a memoir drawing on his transition from corporate employment to international development and grassroots social change.

The Indian author and development professional is scheduled to launch the book at the Frankfurt International Book Fair on 11 October 2026. A special launch at the United Nations premises in Geneva will follow on 13 October, before a Book Talk at the Global Campus of Human Rights in Venice on 16 October.

The Geneva event carries particular significance because Deo previously interned with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. In 2024, he was also invited as a panel speaker at the United Nations Social Forum, marking another milestone in his engagement with international institutions.

Deo spent nearly a decade working with Airtel and PepsiCo before pursuing two Master’s degrees in the UK and Europe. His subsequent work with Medic Mobile, Grameen Foundation and Karya involved international development initiatives across Africa and Southeast Asia.

His journey eventually led him back to his ancestral roots in Bihar. He established the Ananda Foundation in 2022 in Sikaria, Nawada, focusing on women's empowerment, health and hygiene, and livelihood opportunities.

Having travelled to more than 70 countries, Deo brings a broad range of experiences to his writing. Yet the memoir’s central theme remains personal: the willingness to embrace uncertainty, question established expectations and discover a sense of purpose through action