An Interview with Kavita Basi – the Author of ‘Room 23’
Hey lovelies!
Guys, this is a really good read and I’m sure it will be worth your time. Plus, she is working on a really wonderful cause – 10% of the profit from the book ‘Room 23’ goes to The Brain and Spine Foundation.
My request to all of you who’re reading this: This is a really interesting Memoir – it’s easy to read and very very informative. It has some cool features for a book that I really loved! I can’t wait for everyone to buy and start talking about it. My heartfelt gratitude to Kavita for sending me a copy all the way from the UK. It’s my bedside book and I find it very uplifting!Syllables Of Swathi: Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you raised? How are you feeling today? Do you have any pets?
Kavita Basi: Born in the 1970s, Kavita Basi was brought up in a middle-class area in the North East of the UK. She is a vice president in a global organization and an ambassador for a neurological charity in the UK. She writes a blog on her website, www.kavitabasi. com, and is active on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, regularly posting motivating images/information. Basi loves to paint, sing, dance, write, run, walk, and spend time with her family including her puppy Brandi. Even though I’m very lucky that I am here today to be able to share my story, I still have daily struggles with short term memory loss/ anxiety/ emotional difficulties/ personality differences. The most challenging is my extreme fatigue, which makes it difficult to participate in the day to day family life.
SOS: Congratulations on your new book ‘Room 23’. Could you please introduce your memoir to your readers?
KB: I was taken into the accident and emergency wing of the hospital on 17 March, 2015, with a life-threatening Subarachnoid Hemorrhage. I was only thirty-eight years old and had always been a healthy person. I was successful, career-oriented, and travelled the world while working too many hours with no time to relax and think. Then, one night, I suddenly became extremely ill, and my whole world fell apart. I was in the hospital for nearly two months, and after four intense brain surgeries, I had difficulty understanding what was happening to me and why.
My memoir covers my journey to recovery and how my perspective has drastically changed, as I now see the important things in life, the materialistic things don’t matter to me and I want to focus on the true meaning of life.
I had to relearn how to do the simplest tasks, like climbing stairs, retuning noises due to losing some sense of hearing, severe constant headaches as a result of watching any TV, leaning how to use my mobile devices without having motion sickness. My personality changed, and I was left with short term memory loss, intense mood swings, an emotional state of mind, being very direct when talking, having the black and white thinking and losing that middle ground of understanding. This new life also had a major effect on my relationships, family, and view of work.
SOS: You’ve made use of some very innovative approaches on your Memoir to interact with your readers. Does being a Vlogger and Public Speaker inspired you to such creative ideas? We would love to hear you talk about your initial motivation.
KB: Working in the fashion industry over 20 years has kept me upto date and kept me inquisitive on new creative approaches. I’m involved in other speaking events to help spread awareness for Aneurysms and Hemorrhages. It’s important to me that anyone going through this whether you are a patient, family, carer or even friend – doesn’t feel alone through the journey. I’m can sharing my experiences in the hope to help others. You can see my speaking events on my website. www.kavitabasi.com
SOS: What are you trying to achieve with your book? Please share with us your very special purpose.
KB: Another main principle of this book is to deliver information from reliable sources to educate readers and raise awareness of this troubling illness. Throughout my struggle to recover, I force myself to have new experiences and show by example that anyone can bounce back from such adversity and live life to the fullest, as it should be lived. This is my story of learning the most valuable lesson of all, that life is precious and should never be wasted. I wouldn’t want anyone to fell the loneliness I felt, so by sharing ,y experiences will hopefully help others. I’m continuing to support the BSF, so to help – I’m donating 10% of my profits of the book sales towards the Brain and Spine Foundation Charity.
SOS: What does your family think of your writing?
KB: My family, I feel are proud of me, as it started with being a diary, to then blog posts and eventually me releasing a book! They could not believe the dedication and when I received the book deal from She Writes Press Publishers, it just meant so much to me and my family that all the hard work and my story was good enough to share. I continue my writing with my monthly blog posts on my website www.kavitabasi.com
SOS: Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
KB: I get many messages on a daily basis and try my best to answer each and everyone. Its so important to keep the communication with your readers as this shows sincerity and understanding of what they may be going through. I receive comments like ‘ you have helped give me confidence that it will get better ‘ or ‘ I feel the same with my mood swings and need to explain to others around me’ and ‘my fatigue is also difficult to understand, but its good to know its not only me’. These comments are all very similar to what was going through my head but I didn’t know who or where to ask and get this information.
SOS: Tell us about your writing process and the way you brainstorm story ideas.
KB: My writing style in Room 23 is very much my story and I have tried to be very honest and truthful of my experiences after my illness. The blog posts are also from experiences that I incur during trips or daily life and how I apply my difficulties within certain situations. I believe this can also help others.
SOS: What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
KB: When I started doing blog posts on ‘The Garden Hale’ local community group, I received great feedback. Then I also joined a Health group where I shared stories and realised this was giving information that had a huge effect.
SOS: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
KB: Start the writing process much earlier in life! I have found it extremely therapeutic towards my well being and mental health. I absolutely love sitting in my chair , looking out the window and just putting pen to paper.
SOS: What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
KB: That I’m alive, here and never want to waste a day or moment ever. I’m an early riser!
SOS: Who are your favorite authors? What genres do you like to read?
KB: I love Dr Wayne Dyer – I can see clearly now. Eckhart Tolle ‘ The Power of now’ Hal Elrod ‘ the Miracle Morning’ Richard Templar ‘ Rules of Life’ I tend to listen to audio books as I cant read in the same way anymore, prefer mind, body, spirit & motivational genres.
SOS: Fun book fact?
Finally, I decided to add QR Codes (Quick Response Codes) to my book to bring together my love of future forecasting and interactive design and my desire to reach and hold the interest of future generations and people recovering from brain trauma. Visual media has played a large role in my recovery. I haven’t been able to read in the same way since the onset of my illness. My doctor says this is normal and typical of people who have suffered brain injuries. My hope is that by offering this interactive approach to the book, I will offer readers a more layered experience of my story. To download a QR Code Scanner, just visit the app store on your smartphone.
Book Details:
Room 23: Surviving a Brain Hemorrhage
In Room 23, Basi chronicles her time suffering from a subarachnoid hemorrhage—bleeding in the area of the skull surrounding the brain. With this diagnosis, Basi went from being healthy and happy to battling a condition with a 50 percent mortality rate. Following her challenging journey through near death and recovery, this memoir takes an exciting, interactive approach, using QR codes within the chapters so readers can transport themselves to the timeline of what Basi was doing at each moment of her experience, either linking to an Instagram post or video blog—bringing her struggles, and ultimate triumph, alive.
10% of profits will be donated to the Brain & Spine Foundation.
