Brave Inked Emotions – The Backbone of My Life by Varsha Bagadia

Loss is a curious thing. Everyone feels it at some point but the way we experience and react to it is personal. The idiom ‘sailing in the same boat’ encapsulates a unique set of meanings – The Backbone of My Life by Varsha Bagadia.

Emotions are an amazing part of who we are and significantly impact our daily lives. They have the ability to instantaneously lift us up while also having the capacity to send us into the darkest recesses of our minds. We observe that the younger generations have trouble managing their emotions, and it is quite upsetting to watch how many more individuals are becoming emotionally susceptible, which can have catastrophic consequences like suicide or mental health problems.

Not only is our mental well-being important for ourselves, but it also plays a vital role in our social circles, families, and environment. When confronted with obstacles outside their comfort zone, each person finds their own special way to deal. We frequently discover the best strategies for preserving our mental health via experience.

I rarely go numb while reading a book, especially when that book is a gift from a friend to read and share my feedback. However, I don’t often thread to uncharted territory that forces me to confront my triggers head-on. I can only imagine the bravery required in writing this book, coming from someone who fiercely avoided discussing my feelings and the things that troubled me.

My goal was to jot down my opinions on a couple of stories, but each of the 31 articles in this collection has captivated me. However, I am not capable of voicing my opinion on all the stories from the book, here is my take on my favorite stories.

Brave Inked Emotions has been put together, edited, and presented by Roma Gupta Sinha, a well-known name in the blogger community with 7 books to her credit. This is her eighth book targeting women’s empowerment in India. She loves to lead a life with a strong purpose and is an acclaimed writer who won the coveted ‘Woman of the Year’ Award in 2015 for her writings on Women’s Empowerment on her blog www.trulyyoursroma.com.

The collection of brave stories – ‘Brave Inked Emotions’, which was released on International Women’s Day, features 31 notable Indian women writers who have contributed anecdotes from their life journeys. Every tale is as genuine as it comes, from addressing the difficulties of parenthood and mental health to facing their grief, illnesses, and losses head-on. Nothing has been held back in the writing or portrayal of it.

After reading, everyone will undoubtedly be able to connect to one or more of them and experience a profound sense of acceptance.

Like I can personally connect with the story written by a dear friend, Varsha Bagadia, “The Backbone of My Life” is an ode to a father-daughter relationship. I could connect with this story on an emotion that is as raw as it gets – grief. Reading the story, took me back to the emotional roller-coaster ride, when I lost my parents-in-law to the coronavirus.

The grief was so palpable, like a living breathing being. When you suffer such a tragedy, your mind and body go into auto mode. Reading Varsha’s story reminded me of how I craved the moments I spent with them, which can never be repeated in reality. It felt so real like I could touch and feel it from within.

Her story shares the role of the father, who had lost his partner, but led others (including the author herself) by example to fight life head-on and positively handle life. When grief and the guilt of staying behind puts you in a dark place, there are ways one can pull himself/herself out.

Varsha has also shared a few ways she combats grief and emotional vulnerability –

• Crying is alright, even cathartic
• observe the rituals, closure plays an important role
• Talk about your feelings or better write them
• Help needy
• Stay happy consciously for others

‘Life is too short to keep regrets‘ – Varsha’s Father said to her during the course of her emotional turmoil. I love the way she has encapsulated an important chapter of her life in this story. We all go through rough phases once in life, and it’s important to have a backbone in life that can support us during such times.

This story, The Backbone of My Life talks about the same unending support of a parent to his family. All stories are raw and bleeding with emotions and real-life lessons, but a few leave a mark on you forever. I could relate to this story, but these are a few other stories, I would like to mention here –

1. I Never Gave Up by Harjeet Kaur.
2. Life, Wheels and More by Leha Divakar
3. A Teen’s Healing Journey by Cindy D’silva
4. Finding a Sense of Happiness by Swarnali Nath
5. How I deal with Emotional Turnmoil by Noor Anand Chawla
6. Taming My Anger by Rakhi Jayashankar
7. My Battle with Emotional Eating by Ishieta Chopra

I can go over all of the stories and emotions that people have to offer here, but they are all precious. For that reason, I’ll end this piece here and wish Roma, Varsha, and all the writers a wonderful future in writing.

You can get your copy here.

Links to buy on Amazon: Paperback: https://amzn.eu/d/082XuTu

ebook: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0CXPV4176

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