Me: Do you have insecurities?
I asked myself.
My Mind: Yes, I have. A lot. Still. Ummm, not like that twenty two years old girl, not like her, but yes, I do have some insecurities still.
Me: Do they actually hold any meaning for you, dear Self?
Silence. I paused the conversation here and started diving deep inside my thoughts.

So, it was the very first conversation of mine when I started reading An Ode to the Self by Darshana Suresh. This book was among the first books that I picked from the Blogchatter EBook Library of season five. You may wonder why I did this. Because this book is the compilation of a series of A to Z posts that I visited and read regularly. I have read all her blog posts during the month long challenge and I have felt that those posts were not like our well researched and delicately crafted posts, rather, they were the spontaneous outcome of a young girl’s heart and soul. Perhaps, it was the reason why I picked this book to read. Here is the reason. Somewhere in the pages of that young girl’s diary, I find my younger self, too. Just like her, I was surrounded by hundreds of insecurities in those days. I think we all have some insecurities in life. Don’t you?
But, here comes the twist!
The book is an instance of your introspection about the insecurities you think you are surrounded with, and, after reading each chapter, it makes you think, that do the insecurities actually hold any meaning, any validation in your life?
Come, let’s peep inside the diary of a young girl with lots of insecurities. Let’s have a look how she embraces her flaws and imperfections.

Theme of the book:
Insecurities. We all have some insecurities in life, some we accept some we like to keep secret deep inside the heart. But the fact is, we all have some insecurities in life that keep humming in our mind the “You are a perfect misfit” anthem. But the question is, do they really hold any purpose to you?
When we let go these unnecessary burdens, life seems a perfect note of the happy melody!

The blurb:
We humans have insecurities. Sometimes they don’t bother us. At other times they gnaw into our souls. An Ode to the Self is the story of a young girl who decides to dive into her pool of insecurities and find comfort in them. From being excluded from groups to freaking out about the future, her journey speaks about the troubling little thoughts we come across in our lives. Join her as she faces her mind’s demons and looks deeper into the self.

Structure of the book:
The book is a personal diary of a young girl. Centered to the theme of An Ode to the Self, it’s written in a diary format where the author has written her memorable moments when she felt like she is the odd one out, but later she embraced her imperfections and told herself that these are mere thoughts of her own self, and they don’t define the woman she is.
The book has twenty six chapters that are reflections of the author’s life. They are arranged alphabetically from A to Z. The chapters are written as her personal thoughts on being the kind of girl she is. And later, at the end of each chapter, she reflects her experience on that moment with a note to the reader that the only thing matters in the world is You. Nobody but you can overcome the fear of insecurities and it’s you who hold them and once again, it’s you who can let go them to make your life better towards happiness.

Writing style:

The book is written in a subtle art of personal narrative, but while reading the book, you will feel it’s like a story of a young girl who is telling you her thoughts about the insecurities and awkwardness she has faced in her life. I liked the style very much.
The narrative includes short conversations that make the book quite interesting. Lucidly written in a diary form, the story revolves around a young girl’s personal experience about the moments when she felt awkward but later she discovered that these hold no purpose except being a useless burden for the mind.

A glimpse of the book:
I personally felt the call from the third chapter On Building Connections where she wrote about her insecurities of being the odd one out among the group of friends. Then I liked the next chapter, On Taking Decisions where she wrote about being a shadow chaser of her elder sister in her growing age but later, she shifted the choice to her own and started taking decisions of her own choice. If you want to have a flavor about the core theme of the book, I personally feel you should begin with the chapter On Giving an Extempore. The chapter beautifully describes the author’s memory with embarrassment of having panic at the stage while giving an extempore, and later, how she found that the memory is actually a burden for her. Nothing else. At the end of this chapter, she has given an important note to the reader that what we think of a moment of a forever sadness, sometimes, that hold no purpose at all. We should not focus on these little thoughts of insecurities. On Getting Hurt, On Finding Your Individuality, On Being Judged, On Being Mediocre and On Being a Writer are some of my personal favourite chapters from the book. But, the post I liked most and now, my most favourite chapter from the book is On Discovering your True-Self. Why? Because the chapter is all about finding the true self of someone. All about confessions about her imperfections and reflections on the Self, life and everything in between. The book is all about this kind of reflections.

My Recommendation:
I would love to tell you that amidst the hustle and bustle of life, sometimes, we forget to look into our very own self. I do recommend you to read the book for I feel that while reading the author’s reflections on her diary, you may find a glimpse of you, too.
You can download the ebook for free now. It’s available in the Blogchatter Ebook Library season five. You can download the ebook from here:

https://www.theblogchatter.com/download/an-ode-to-the-self-by-darshana-suresh/

About the Author:
Darshana Suresh aka Dashy is a lover of dreams, rains, and words. She likes to break free from the daily routine to explore the depths of her mind, if not the world around her. A computer science engineer in the making, she is pretty close to entering the corporate world. When she isn’t busy running the rat race, she blogs at Wandering Wows (dashyspeaks.blogspot.com).