Distinctiveness - Travel and Lifestyle Blog

  I recently completed 15 years on Blogger. 15 years ago, one fine morning, I suddenly had a brainwave. I wanted to have a blog of my own. I have no idea how such a thought corrupted my mind, or maybe, I do. The world was a different place then. We were young, still coming to terms with the immense potential of the World Wide Web. I had been stringing together words to form sentences of value for a while, but the audience was a limited few. When you create something, no matter how miniscule, no matter how insignificant it might be to the cause of the society, you often tend to be overprotective of it. So was I, writing in last pages of notebooks or on small diaries with black covers that were shielded from prying eyes. Verses, mostly, and occasional stories that usually ended up in crumpled papers in the dustbin at the corner of the room. 15 years ago, I shed my inhibitions and decided to open up to a wider audience. I forayed into blogging on a whim, simply to unleash my voice...

  It's not always that you find a book that mixes sadness and humor to good effect. However, Gail Honeyman's work - 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine' is that rare exception that fits the mold. It's has a very unglamorous take on depression, but that is what makes it so real. Sadness isn't fashionable, despite what the movies might suggest. It's not beautiful, it's not charming. Its bittersweet image is a fraud; sadness is entirely bitter and not even remotely sweet. Eleanor Oliphant, as you might have guessed, is not at all fine, even though that is what she claims to be. Isn't that how we all face sadness? We completely deny its existence, we fight the tears when they need to be shed. We often refuse to deal with the darkness, seeking momentary distraction instead. We often fight a lonely battle in the confines of our hearts, gasping for air even as we sink deeper and deeper. Sadly, the journey from sadness to normal isn't a simple a...