My Grandmother, Hwa.

My grandmother has passed for eight years now and I knew I would be telling her story one day. While I knew what was going into the book, but I did not yet know how to best write it. I remember sobbing in the late nights after she passed and still talking to her in present tense, as if she's never left.

End of last year an idea came to me in a shower and I completed the first chapter in an hour. So, here’s the book, finally completed.

Writing this book forced me to confront two things: First, the fact that my grandmother has truly suffered in the hands of a patriachal society; Second, that I’ve never really known her. My grandmother has been misunderstood for most of her life, and even by extended family. Even I could not say that I fully understood what went through her mind. It is by stepping into her life for a minute and imagine how the 1950s operated, that I could finally feel the nerves building all around her.

The story spans across 80 years and sees her through many tragedies. As a result, she suffered from a lifelong mental disorder, and without a clinical diagnosis, there was nothing to do about it. It breaks my heart over and over again writing this book, knowing that even I wasn't there for her.

It's a labour of love, obviously. As a marketer, this tests my storytelling ability. It is one thing to tell a factual story, but it is another altogether to tell an emotional one. All I hope is that I've done my Popo justice.

Here's a sneak peek: https://online.fliphtml5.com/edwlz/fqkb/

Available on Amazon Kindle now: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DM8G3PY1

#ebook #memoir #biography #MalaysianHistory