How I Wrote a Book on Hope in the Bleakest of Times

by Preeti Shenoy

‘I’m sure it’s nothing, you are being paranoid,’ I told my husband over the phone.

‘Flights, events –everything is getting cancelled. Take the next flight back home immediately,’ my husband pleaded.

It was March 2020 and I was in Mumbai for the cover launch of my 13th novel. It was to be a grand unveiling with over two hundred attendees. My daughter, who was also the cover designer of the book, had flown in from Singapore for the event. It was something we were looking forward to, a celebration, a reunion, and a mini vacation.

But as things turned out, the event was cancelled. I managed to return back home to Bangalore, and my daughter made the last flight back to Singapore, just before the borders shut down. It would be at least five months before I stepped out of my residential complex again. Both my children were stuck in Singapore. I did not know when I would see them again.

When the pandemic began, no one imagined the magnitude of it. In India, we were told it would be a lockdown of just 21 days. I started a series of blog posts called ‘21 Days of Positivity’. Every day, I would write a new post, which people could read in their inbox, free of cost, if they subscribed. As the lockdowns kept getting extended, I continued posting on my Instagram account simple things that gave me joy–video of a flower that bloomed, something I’d cooked, a painting I made, the beautiful sunrises and sunsets, a parrot that visited—anything that brought me even a tiny amount of joy. 

Surprisingly, these posts brought happiness to so many people who were cooped up inside their apartments, unable to step out. They began waiting for my posts. On the days that I did not post, they sent me messages asking if I was okay. I had unintentionally created a community of people who genuinely cared for each other. I began receiving hundreds of messages of gratitude, telling me that my Instagram stories were the only things helping people get through the day. It was overwhelming to think that whatever I shared was having an impact on people’s lives. 

A lot of people also wrote to me asking if it’s truly possible to be happy all the time. They said I made it seem easy. How does one remain positive when the reality is harsh? Do we stick our head in the sand, pretending that the situation does not exist? Do we ignore the terrible statistics of deaths and the crippling economic growth that stare at us everywhere we look? How does one stay sane in these trying times? 

When I started responding to the queries, I noticed that my replies were increasingly longer and longer. Many asked me to put them up so they could refer to it whenever they felt the need for a ‘pick- me-up’. I began talking to people, asking them what they found most difficult about being hopeful. As they opened up to me, I discovered I had a lot of suggestions and tips to offer. After all, I had some experience in facing grief.  A few years back, I had faced the biggest loss of my life, my father’s sudden death, a tragedy from which I thought I would never recover. But eventually, I did. I also inadvertently discovered a precious skill—that we can indeed change our mindset and cope with anything that life throws at us. 

My father taught me that when we are helpless about our situation, and have done all that we can, the best thing to do is to focus on something else, and take tiny steps to make ourselves feel better. I began writing all that came to me. It was more a ‘guide’ that I was writing for my children, passing on the wisdom of my parents and grandparents. I did not think much about why I was doing it other than to share what had helped me. I mentioned this to an editor and she loved the idea. They were very keen to publish it;

It was then that I began working on it in a structured manner. It was extremely hard to write for multiple reasons. First, writing, like most other activities,  was challenging during the pandemic. Additionally, this book was so different from any book I  had written before. Most of my other work is fiction. When I write a fictional tale, I can escape into a different world, and live a different life for a brief period. But here, I had to travel into those dark places inside my head that I did not want to revisit. 

I wanted it to be useful to anyone who read it, and so I drew greatly from my own life. I shared inspiring  real life stories that I had come across too —of  ordinary people doing things that were considered impossible. As I poured my heart and soul into it, the book slowly took shape. And I trudged on, throwing myself into it.

Writing this book further reinforced my belief that even in the bleakest of moments, we can hold on to hope. By changing how we look at things, we can change our realities. I call this the Magic Mindset. It’s my hope that this book helps whoever reads it, and helps them lead a more joyful life.

—

Preeti Shenoy, among the top five highest selling authors in India, is also on the Forbes longlist of the most influential celebrities in India. Her work has been translated to many languages.

India Today has named her as being unique for being the only woman in the best-selling league. She has been awarded the ‘Indian of the Year’ award for 2017 by Brands Academy for her contribution to Literature. She has also received the Academia award for Business Excellence by the New Delhi Institute of Management. She has given talks in many premier educational institutions such as IITs and IIMs and corporate organisations like KPMG, Infosys and Accenture an. She is also an artist specialising in portraiture and illustrated journalling.

Her short stories and poetry have been published in various magazines such as Conde Nast and Verve.

She has a very popular blog and also writes a weekly column in The Financial Chronicle. She has a massive online following. Her other interests are travel, photography and yoga. Her books include A Hundred Little Flames, It’s All In The Planets, Why We Love The Way We Do, The Secret Wish List, The One You Cannot Have and many others.

Find out more about Preeti on her website https://preetishenoy.com/

Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/preetishenoy

THE MAGIC MINDSET: HOW TO FIND YOUR HAPPY PLACE

Sometimes, it’s not easy to find the silver lining.

While positivity is about looking at the bright side of things, the magic mindset embraces and accepts that it is not always possible to do so. Sometimes things get so bleak that our mind refuses to accept that there can be a silver lining.

In this book, Preeti Shenoy gives you a set of principles for every area of life, designed to help us shift our perspective from hopelessness to hope, from despondency to joy, from cynicism to belief – a belief that change is coming, and things are not as bad as they seem.

Perfect reading for the difficult times that we are living in, The Magic Mindset is full of tips, suggestions, fun exercises and practical advice on career, family, health, relationships, finances, social media, and more. It also includes inspiring stories and anecdotes from Preeti’s own life. A cornerstone for all those who want to change their outlook, The Magic Mindset helps us build a purposeful and joyful life.

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Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing