Team Keemiya is in conversation with author Aarthi Prabhakaran, whose essay is a part of Our Stories Are Us: Voices of Love, Loss, and Longing (MyndStories, 2026).
Aarthi Prabhakaran
Contributor, Our Stories Are Us: Voices of Love, Loss, and Longing
Aarthi Prabhakaran has 20+ years of multi-faceted experience in providing integrative counselling, impacting diverse student, family populations and NGOs. She conceived ChangeMakers, a tailored life skills programme for teens and young adults, emphasising problem-solving, holistic well-being, and lifelong learning. She co-authored the book “Imperfect Parenting: Honest Stories from Global Parents”. She is an active writer and a counselor at MyndStories.
Team Keemiya: What moved you to write your personal story, and what made you feel ready to share it publicly?
Aarthi Prabhakaran: The initial idea to publish an anthology on stories of healing, titled “Beyond the Horizon”, pulled my heart’s strings and words just flowed. It was my way to say, “You are not alone and you are not going crazy. Just find your tribe”, to those navigating the difficult journey of motherhood’s dichotomy of joy and despair.
Team Keemiya: While writing your essay, did you discover or understand something new about your experience, your relationships, or yourself?
Aarthi Prabhakaran : Every time I write something from my life’s experiences & learnings, I feel a sense of gratitude for the experience and lessons I have learned. I am a person focused on growth, and willing to accept “what is” before I step on my self discovery journey.
As I tread this path, I became the cycle-breaker, ensuring that my spouse, children, and other people in my circle of influence are also able to reflect on my newer perspectives & take what is applicable or exciting for them.
Team Keemiya: Sharing deeply personal experiences can be difficult. What was the most challenging part of putting your story into words?
Aarthi Prabhakaran: The processing of the overwhelming emotions was the most difficult part of the process. Writing is cathartic for this reason. As one recollects and records the events, the emotions, the physical sensations felt, all these come to life as it was felt when the actual event/incident unfolded.
Even when we know it is in the past, and now we are probably in a safer place, recollecting those memories are quite vivid and forces us to sit with them once again to process them slowly to ensure that our mental capacity, that was built from the learnings of the experience, is retained and enriched.
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?
Aarthi Prabhakaran: I hope that the reader feels that they are not alone and that there is light at the end of the tunnel, that every experience is transient and this too shall eventually pass, because there is their tribe of support is just around the corner, if not already beside them.
Writing and allowing myself to show my vulnerable side to the world has made me more accepting of myself, with my imperfections.
Team Keemiya: As a first-time writer, what did the experience of contributing to this anthology mean to you personally?
Aarthi Prabhakaran: I may not qualify as a first-time writer, but the experience of hearing that my essay made it to the anthology is always the same as the first time you hear that your work is published or featured – child-like excitement, followed by wanting to get my hands on the authors’ copy.
Read more stories of other contributors.
Team Keemiya: How did writing your story affect your relationship with the memory or experience you wrote about?
Aarthi Prabhakaran: It has made me feel more strongly about being that person who I needed then, for someone else who is in need of such support now. Writing and allowing myself to show my vulnerable side to the world has made me more accepting of myself, with my imperfections, and love myself more for who I have become today, thanks to everything I navigated.
Team Keemiya: One word that describes your story
Aarthi Prabhakaran: Unravelling
Team Keemiya: A book or writer that inspires you.
Aarthi Prabhakaran: NA – Changes with my age and mood
Team Keemiya: What writing this essay taught you?
Aarthi Prabhakaran: Reclamation
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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