Today we talk about BEFORE THE AGE OF 28. Defying biology, gender norms, societal norms, a book by Prachurya Bharadwaj published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author Prachurya Bharadwaj, to get to know her better, what was the moment that led her to the writing of her autobiographical book BEFORE THE AGE OF 28. Defying biology, gender norms, societal norms, as well as what sensation she felt by reading her life on the pages of her book.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- What was the moment that led you to the writing of your autobiographical story?
The moment was the pandemic. I had time, experiences, space, peace of mind and a hell of a story to tell. Before this, I wrote another book and I never had the passion to publish it. Because in that book, the way I told the story, I wasn’t being raw and honest as I was, in this book. In April 2020, I moved into my first ever house purchased by yours truly. By June 2020, I started writing amidst all the renovation work, settling down in a new neighbourhood in a whole new country that I moved to, in mid-2019. I was starting with a new relationship with the person who I ended up marrying later. I also was focusing a lot on strength training and I took several trainings at work. It was a busy time for me, as it always has been. But for the first time ever, I had it all – time, money, space, friendships, peace, serenity, ample ambitions, a romantic relationship, faith. 2020 was the utopia of happiness for me, contrary to most people. I made the utmost use of the golden combination of factors that I had in my hands and this book is a product of that beautiful utopia I created for myself, my house in Eindhoven, spacious as ever and delightful to live in.
- What sensation did you feel by ‘reading’ your life on the pages of your book?
I didn’t enjoy the part where I would have to re-live my past. I really didn’t expect that going down my memory lanes would be so tough. I had to write down the summary first and then continue re-writing the sentences again and again to bring in more of the details. In fact, while I was editing the book, it was very nauseating at times, for me to re-read my sentences, beautify them and then re-read them again. Also, since this is a life story, I achieved several more milestones in my life, while I was in the editing phase of the book and it was very difficult to hold back on writing more of the milestones, I achieved during 2021 and 2022. My sincere conclusion is that people shouldn’t re-live their past too much. That is one lesson I would like to take away from this experience. However, yes, it was very therapeutic for me to write down the story for the first time and definitely a great sense of accomplishment.
- What particularly significant experiences in your life find expression in your book?
Chapters 4 to 7 could have become books of their own if I had the patience to expand the story more. I hold my times in Norway very dear to life because I broke past many physiological and psychological oppression from the society around me. The chapter ‘bonus section’ describes the types of racism and sexism that I had to face throughout my time there. But the most bone chilling time for me, in my life, that I never want to ever live through again, is during the age of 15 to 21. Young ambitious minds are very difficult to reason with. But I had nobody who could advise me properly without judging me or making me feel even more inferior. So today when I talk to some people in their early 20s or even late 20s, I see similar mindsets. They are ambitious and talented but they feel judged at every step because they haven’t reached this stage in their lives where they have done enough and therefore, it is time to take a few steps back and reassess their actions. They exert their energies in everything and anything. They do not have a direction in life. This book will allow those people to see a future and tell themselves that they will do great if they give themselves some rest and choose the right action (each day) that sustains their long term goals.
- What are the messages you want to send out to your readers?
There would be two types of readers – one who would love the book because they want to grow or they would resonate with the story and other is, who would find it too confronting. My message to people who liked the book is, thank you for humbling me by reading my life story. I am honoured and I will continue writing more. I wasn’t able to write a lot of the details because of the enormous amount of emotions that I was feeling. I also didn’t write the story all in a chronological order. You might have had a good time putting the pieces of the puzzle together. My chapters at the beginning have references to the middle and many chapters at the end have references to the middle. The primary message I want to send is, don’t waste time. Don’t spend your time in wallowing in self-pity or mourning the loss of a relationship. Don’t even wait for finding your passion in life. You will get many opportunities to find your passion and chase your dreams. Keep going. Take control over your future by receiving financial independence. Prove yourself to whoever it needs to be proven. Let go of whoever and whatever doesn’t help you grow. Remove the weeds from your life. Grow a wasabi. The readers of the book will know what I mean. My message to the ones who didn’t like my book is, thanks for giving the book a try. You might like my next book.
- Are you planning to write more books?
Yes, I am. I am already working on my second book – “Marathon-ing through life”. Marathon-ing through life is a special book that is a real-life application of all the motivational speeches you hear, all the productivity enhancing books you have read or all the advices you might have received. I am not a celebrity and neither can I be one. I do not have the ‘star power’ in me to receive the limelight. So, there might often be a question asked why should anybody read my books? It is because, my story isn’t backed by any corporation or marketing agency. I do not have any other motive, but to write. My stories are simply my experiences and yes, I could have gone down the fiction writing road but why bother? When I write my stories, I am simply documenting how the world has come and how much a person can accomplish simply through the power of conscious decisions.
Europe Books thanks the author Prachurya Bharadwaj once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside her on the editorial path that led to the publication of her book BEFORE THE AGE OF 28. Defying biology, gender norms, societal norms. We wish her the best of luck for her future works.
To you, my dear reader, I wish this book will excite you and at the same time make you reflect on the importance of not wasting time, not self-pity, of seeking and living your passions, and of letting go anyone who prevents you from moving forward or who does not help you improve and grow.
So, my dear reader, all I have to say is to enjoy this very interesting and inspiration reading!
Your editor!