The Story of She

by Doris Pushpam

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781922314062
Publisher:	Buon-Cattivi Press
Publication date:	09/22/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	222
File size:	579 KB

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

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