Team Keemiya is in conversation with author Rhea Pal, whose essay is a part of Our Stories Are Us: Voices of Love, Loss, and Longing (MyndStories, 2026).
Rhea Pal
Contributor, Our Stories Are Us: Voices of Love, Loss, and Longing
Rhea is a shy person, the kind who feels more comfortable listening than speaking. She lives in a quiet village in Goa where life moves slowly, and the world still offers small kindnesses like painted birds that land on balconies, Ghibli dogs that greet you without judgement, a curly, glass-eyed boy whose existence reminds me that love can be uncomplicated.
Team Keemiya: What moved you to write your personal story, and what made you feel ready to share it publicly?
Rhea Pal: It started as simple scribbles. But as some emotional challenges of life became too heavy to bear alone, writing and sharing was the easiest way for me to reach out.
I haven’t been the perfect person, so a few have also been reflective and almost an admission of a flawed character.
Team Keemiya: While writing your essay, did you discover or understand something new about your experience, your relationships, or yourself?
Rhea Pal: Yes, it did. But I feel that discovering or understanding something new about my experience, relationships, or myself came first and then the writing followed.
Team Keemiya: Sharing deeply personal experiences can be difficult. What was the most challenging part of putting your story into words?
Rhea Pal: The acceptance that I was wrong.
Team Keemiya: If a reader who has gone through something similar picks up this book, what would you hope they feel or take away from your story?
Rhea Pal:
You will grow up. You will know some of life’s blunders were absolutely your fault. You will, in time, forgive yourself.
Team Keemiya: As a first-time writer, what did the experience of contributing to this anthology mean to you personally?
Rhea Pal: The anthology came at a time, when I had almost given up writing. So hope…. yeah… so it meant hope for me.
Team Keemiya: How did writing your story affect your relationship with the memory or experience you wrote about?
Rhea Pal: It didn’t affect my relationship or the experience. It just instilled a shred of humility in me , while writing of the memory or experience.
Read more stories of other contributors.
Team Keemiya: One word that describes your story
Rhea Pal: Hope
Team Keemiya: A book or writer that inspires you
Rhea Pal: Before the coffee gets cold.
Team Keemiya: What writing this essay taught you?
Rhea Pal: That I could write, maybe. I really dont know.
This conversation is part of the ongoing series featuring contributors to Our Stories Are Us, a literary anthology exploring the depth and complexity of human relationships.
Want to read their full story? Find it in Our Stories Are Us. Grab a copy today!
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About the Book
Our Stories Are Us is a literary anthology that brings together a set of real, deeply personal narratives about the fragile beauty of human relationships. Through essays and memoir-style reflections, this collection brings together voices that speak with honesty about grief, resilience, vulnerability and healing.
Blending the honesty of non-fiction storytelling, these lived experiences of love and loss tell of relationships that transform us, grief that shake us from deep within, and moments of connection that leave a lasting imprint. Every story holds space for vulnerability, courage, and the unspoken truths we often struggle to name.
This book is perfect for readers of literary non-fiction, and who enjoy reading essays, short stories, and memoirs. This book is for you if you’re drawn to reflective, emotionally rich storytelling and believe in the power of narrative as a form of healing.
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