~”I am Kuenzang Dema, presently in the final year of pursuing my BA in International Development, Social Innovation at Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand.

Books have always been a place I can dwell in and could restfully tag along anywhere and anytime. The smell of the book comforts me through any frame of mind. I feel the time spent reading is never a time wasted and this very motive has driven my interest in the books. At times I may not understand the scenario, I still enjoy pronouncing each syllable and reading throughout. It might sound weird, but I perceive I am having a conversation with the book I am reading. I am not sure how many readers will agree but I firmly believe books can go more in-depth than a movie you watch, or a place you visit. The zeal in viewing how the other half lives and experiences the world as someone else intensifies the fun of living a life. Therefore, I would never trade the relationship and fondness I have over books.

God’s Callgirl by Carla Van Raay is one of my favorite reads; an autobiography of her life lived as a nun and prostitute. Vividly elaborates her childhood abuse, emigration to Australia from Europe. Sge depicts through her writing how she led a perfectly imperfect life; her life as a nun in the convent and the journey of marriage after, the unfortunate marriage failure and her struggle of earning a living as a prostitute. It touches on the bitter reality women had to undergo in society. Despite the struggles, she raised her daughter and held her strength and fought a way out to live the better life she wished for, rather than cowardly sitting back and regretting the past.

My takeaway from the Book:

Life is not about what you expect, rather life is what happens to you and how you constructively maneuver it. It all takes courage and a good motive to make things right since nothing can be undone from the past. Rather recreate the future with a brighter sight than ruining it with the bygone days. Instead, make the best use of the lessons bestowed from the past to pave the way forward.”