Verlaine-Diane Soobroydoo, author of ‘Unbound: Twitter thoughts for the heart and mind’ is in Kigali for different book talks and signing, as part of her tour named Unbound Africa World Tour. Her 250-page book is a collection of Twitter thoughts, poetry and affirmations that reflects human beings’ journey of ascending out of the darkness. The journey is transposed in seven parts, Reckoning, The Fall, Ascension, Whole Again, New Beginning, Gratitude, The End all depicting growth, completion, and completeness. Each fragment incorporates enduring tweets and tips to become unbound and takes the reader through a journey of reflection, healing and transformation. The book was published in New York, in January 2022. Verlaine-Diane Soobroydoo with different people who attended the book signing event - Photo by Camille Bitegetsimana Jean Paul During the book signing event that took place at Librairie Ikirezi Bookshop, on the evening of June 28, Verlaine said it was important for her to bring the book back home, Africa, through the tour she started in South Africa then Kenya, and Tanzania, before coming Rwanda. She noted that she is set to continue the tour to Nigeria, Ethiopia and Uganda, among other countries. Tackling the inspiration behind the book, she said it conveys individual and collective stories through pain, challenges, and darkness. Written during Covid-19 pandemic, she describes it as “a walk through pain and challenges, overcoming those moments and then getting to healing, love and liberation.” Thats what the book is about,” she continues, “sitting with the problems, understanding what the problems are, looking at them, overcoming them and then healing yourself to become born again and be part of the community, touching people positively. Tackling why she decided to share it with the world, she said that her life was already public and it was important for her to show that it was okay sometimes not to be okay. When you are in a public space, people think you have to be perfect, but its not, particularly as a woman. We go through many challenges. I went through many challenges and I thought that I wanted to be true to myself so that I could be true to others. I started sharing poetry on Twitter and it became public and then I decided to make a book out of it, she said. Writing has always been part of Verlaine’s life since she was a child. She revealed that it was a place she would go to share her secrets, to think about the dreams she had, and while working on the book, she used the same process – going back to childhood when things were possible. As an International Public Policy Strategist, Verlaine’s effort is rooted in policy, human rights, women and youth empowerment, inclusion, diversity, equality, and social justice. In 2018, she was recognized in the Top 100 list of Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) in the Politics and Governance Category and in 2019, she was again recognised in the Top 100 Influencers on Gender Equality and Diversity by Onalytica. Her message to people who are trying to heal from different things is to first sit with the pain, the challenges or the problems and understand them. You cannot heal from something you do not understand or see. Dont be distracted. You know, we go on Instagram or Twitter feeds, and watch videos to get distracted and to forget that we are hurting instead of dealing with the pain and observing it. The problem is that it never goes away. The first part of healing is recognising there is a problem, sitting with it and observing it. Once you are in that space, healing can start, she said. Unbound: Twitter thoughts for the heart and mind with foreword by Oscar Winning Sound Designer Resul Pookutty is available here. It can also be found at Librairie Ikirezi Bookshop, Kacyiru, Kigali.
