KARACHI: The launch of Saira Sheikh’s debut novel Healing in the Shadow of Loss at the publisher Liberty Books’ flagship shop on Friday, opened a window into many hearts that may be grieving.
My Bookshelf co-founder Kamila Rahim Habib in conversation with the author probed her to share her personal journey behind the writing of the book while exploring healing and remembrance. Sheikh is a writer, a TEDx speaker, a businesswoman and an advocate for mental health all rolled into one. She said that her writing journey started with her feeling isolated around six years ago.
“This book started as a private journey when I was trying to make sense of things. It was not supposed to be for public consumption,” Sheikh said, adding that as she started navigating around her feelings her heart felt a little lighter.
“Speaking about my pain of loss, I am also making a connection by giving others going through pain a space for being vulnerable by being vulnerable myself.”
The book has an interesting cover with an origami boat afloat in a pretty lake with flowers. It was designed by the author herself. “My cousins used to play with a little silver boat that could sail in water but I would be afraid of the little fire burning inside it. Then my mother suggested I make my own origami boat. I thought a paper boat would just sink in the water but my mother said that I could shape it in a way that will help it stay afloat. The cover is symbolic. The afloat origami boat there is similar to carrying on with life even in times of grief and pain,” the author pointed out.
The author was of the view that rituals and stuff after losing someone do not mean moving on afterwards, nor does a period of mourning for say three days or 40 days. “It is not to be dictated how we feel. Grieving is so personal. It can be for three days, three years or a lifetime,” she pointed out, adding that they are three siblings with each of them having a different way of dealing with their grief.
“I also say in my book that coping mechanisms are different. And we need to allow that without being judgemental because while some may express their feelings, others may internalise them,” she said. “But grief of loss is the price you pay for love.”
Sheikh also said that your relatives or friends may love you deeply but not everyone who loves you will have the emotional capacity to heal you. “If you are not ready to heal yourself, then no one can heal you anyway,” she said.
She also said that writing helps a lot in getting in touch with your own feelings. “Journaling is like counselling. I started writing initially to remember things, then I wrote to make sense of my feelings. Try writing yourself and see how things will change. Write down your experience and feelings and go back and read it later. It will help you understand what is going on with you better, which will take you to a better place,” she said.
“When I was unable to make sense of things, I reached for self-help books. But they were Western books. In my novel I talk to you. If you are going through something, please pick yourself up because this is not the end. There is still a lot ahead to look forward to,” she concluded.
Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2026
