Are your teenage years the best time of your life?
Are your teenage years the best time of your life? If you’re an adult looking back on a time before jobs and financial responsibility then the teen years can seem easy. But for most of us young adulthood can be a difficult time. If only there was a book designed to help.
There is. A young writer has produced a book of poems aimed at inspiring teens to overcome problems and become their true selves. Journey of a Bedroom Poet is the first book by Bangkok-born, mixed-heritage writer Catherine Napalai Faulder (Cat). Taking time away from her job at our cool sister-magazine Guru, Cat uses poems to chart the ups and downs of a voyage of teenage discovery.
S Weekly recently caught up with Cat to talk about her own personal journey as a poet.
How did you start writing?
Cat: I was always shy about my poetry and writing when I was growing up. I loved writing poetry so much, but I only wrote in my bedroom — my comfort zone. The bedroom was where I felt most free to explore my writing. Writing poetry gives me the greatest high.
How would you describe the book?
Cat: The protagonist, the Bedroom Poet, is a girl trapped in her comfort zone. Her story is about why we allow ourselves to live in fear, and how that fear stops us from doing what we love. Most importantly, what happens when we choose to live inside our comfort zone? A life lived inside a comfort zone is one not lived at all.
What are the book’s main themes?
Cat: The themes are things that we don’t talk about like identity, confidence, living in fear or comfort, battles of the mind, censorship, body image and mental health. But there’s also a lot of humour in the book.
Who is the book written for?
Cat: The book is for anybody who is living in their comfort zone or truly passionate about something but too scared to pursue that passion. It’s a book of healing, for anybody struggling with identity, mental health or even an eating disorder.
Why did you write it?
Cat: I wrote it to create a piece of work that would help myself and others heal and pursue what they are passionate about and can’t stop thinking about. Because if you can’t stop thinking about something, then you are meant to do it. The power of thought and belief is key and I want to help build a world where we hold more positive beliefs about our potential and purpose and feel more fulfilled and happy.
The book is very personal. How do you feel about sharing your private thoughts?
Cat: When I faced all the issues the book talks about, I felt alone and couldn’t talk to anybody. I was very ashamed. I want to help anybody who is living in fear or too scared to do what they love, or anybody who has an identity crisis or is battling with depression, addiction or bulimia.
You’ve been doing some public readings of the book. How did these go?
Cat: I feel that for the first time in my life I’m being absolutely honest. The readings have led to so many discussions and questions and people reaching out to me and getting secrets off their chest that they’ve held for years. The readings have proven that we’re more connected and we can all help each other heal.
What do you hope readers will take from the book?
Cat: I hope readers will take away the knowledge that they should pursue what they love most, despite the odds against them and more importantly, the obstacles they place on themselves. Many of us are afraid to be different, and the pressure to conform can kill our personal freedom. But to live creatively is to find your own way, even if it means going against the grain.
The book can be bought from Amazon, Cat’s page, www.facebook.com/BedroomPoet or by contacting Cat via Line at catfauldz.www.facebook.com/BedroomPoet or by contacting Cat via Line at catfauldz.
