The Story of She
1st Edition
Published on 22. September 2022
222 pages
978-1-922314-06-2 (ISBN)
Description
There are stories that live within us. They lie deep in our vast nothingness where exist memories of those who have left us, those we have loved, those we have met in passing, and those who have left a part of themselves behind. These stories have lain dormant in the many twists and turns of our being, waiting to strike, rattling at our cages, each story begging for a chance to be told. They are a product of experience, dreams and nightmares, memories, life. It is these stories that form Doris Pushpam's The Story of She.Stripped down to a singular She, each story is a culmination of the many identities engrained in the notion of 'she' and the stories that live within them, thrusting forward their uniqueness, hopes, fears, dreams, struggles, tempests and rebellion. These stories explore the tales of women who are confined to strict social expectations and traditions from various frames of reference that are introspective, retrospective and prospective. They outline aspects of women's existence in conservative societies and beyond, illustrate the antagonistic role of society in dictating how they live their lives, and the resistance or lack thereof to these demands. It is a call to listen so that the future generation of women will be free to live as they please. It is also a call to action to engineer change for those who face these problems and are unable to tell their story. Mostly, it is a grenade of hope for a better future for all who identify as she.
More details
Person
Hailing from the humid, windy, sometimes scorching suburbs of Malaysia, Doris Pushpam chose to pursue the ever-promising path of creative writing. When she isn't making questionable life decisions she can be found embroidering, baking, painting, losing chess games to her father, reading, journaling, playing video games, or picking up some new hobby. Sometimes she creates worlds where women are able to tell their story and other times she writes in rhyme and lives in the clouds. She enjoys creating chaos and happily-ever-afters and nothing makes her happier than that final full stop and a perfect rhyme. Doris Pushpam is currently undertaking a PhD in Creative Writing (in line with her tendency for making questionable life decisions) through which she hopes to continue advocating for women in oppressed cultures. In her previous research she explored the notion of becoming a woman in relation to the oral tradition, investigated the many nuances of change that affect women from oppressed cultures, and also discussed the need for women to form a space where all aspects of oneself that one chooses to be, can exist. She is inspired by the works of Simone de Beauvoir, Jane Austen, Gloria Anzaldúa, Maya Angelou, and Sylvia Plath.
Content
RETROSPECT
Musings of a Girl in a Tree 13
Story of My Life 19
Henna Stains 26
The Story of She 39
Fishes and Promises 45
The Tragedy of Tortoise Shells 53
Existence Precedes Essence 62
Snow White and Tar Black 70
Cotton Candy Clouds and Graveyard Stars 77
Talia 82
The Conditioned Smile 86
She is Clay 90
INTROSPECT
The Sin of Skin 97
The Runaway Bride 103
Monsters in the Moonlight 110
Growing Jasmines 116
Just Another Day in May 126
This is a Short Story 130
She Unravels 133
The Curse of an Empty Nest 137
The Paradox of Porcelain Hearts 146
Loud Minds and Quiet People 150
Ode to Sarees 157
Creating Constellations 161
The Many Nuances of Silence 173
PROSPECT
The Variety Store 185
Justice is Sweet 192
If We Were Bees 198
Choose Your Fate 204
