Flowers Grow on Broken Walls is a unique collection of poems and prose that talks about healing and finding yourself in a world that constantly tells you that's who you shouldn't be.
The poems, which tell a story, go over our everyday human emotions; from being heartbroken and questioning our self-worth in a world of judgment and scrutinizing social media, to finding ourselves and appreciating those really important in our lives - especially our inner, true selves.
The collection displays a raw and honest portrayal of an artist who cannot help but create something beautiful in the midst of the ugliness she has been put through, and who continues to hope against all odds, as she lets go of what she has been told is important and finds herself in one truly is.
The story that starts with heartache ends with healing, it starts
with rejection from someone but ends with self-acceptance, which is the only
way for true healing.
Author Bio:
Farena Bajwa is a talented poet, storyteller, actor, filmmaker, and voice-over artist. Even though she studied Marketing Management, her creativity comes from her heart. Whether it’s filmmaking, voice-over, or acting, she owes it to her life philosophy: ‘’learning by doing’’. ‘’Flowers Grow on Broken Walls’’ is Farena’s first written collection of poetry that speaks about the journey to self-healing after experiencing the loss of someone, but mostly, the loss of yourself. She wants to inspire her readers using her power of words to make them feel less alone and to let them know that no matter what they go through, healing is just around the corner, already cheering for you.
Website: https://farenabajwa.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brilliant_mess/
Where
do you get inspiration for your stories?
I am primarily inspired by my own experiences, but I love to hear and to learn about other people’s experiences too. I am also inspired by situations going on in the world.
How
long have you been writing?
I’ve been journaling my whole life. But I only started writing poems when I started writing Flowers Grow on Broken Walls. The interesting thing is, I’ve always had thoughts running through my head formed in a poetic way. When I didn’t understand, when something happened, I would think those thoughts in small poems. I thought art would be able to lift off the weight from unpleasant situations I was dealing with right away. And oftentimes, it turned out to be true.
Do
you ever get writer’s block? What helps you overcome it?
Yes, constantly. But I don’t get intimidated by it. Whenever I have a writer’s block I just feel like: “Oh, I am probably not meant to be writing right now. So let’s see what I can do to take are of myself/have fun/get some other work done etc. And eventually the block ends and I am inspired again. The key? Letting go.
What
is your next project?
All I know is that I am currently writing poems. One poem after another. I don’t have a specific theme, I guess I’ll find out when the time comes.
What
genre do you write and why?
I write poetry because poems are able to give my feelings a voice. They help me understand what I am feeling and also how I can deal with these emotions.
What
is the last great book you’ve read?
The invisible life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. A magnificent piece of work dancing between different timelines, magic, and blood cold reality that we often think boring. But truthfully, it is our reality that is more enchanting than magic if you stop taking friendly gestures of strangers, or new shortcuts you discovered etc. for granted.
What
is a favorite compliment you have received on your writing?
A reviewer wrote:
I loved reading Shakespeare and feel that this author
could certainly be a modern day version of him. The disappointments, loss,
love, and other happenstances of life are well within these poems.”
Just reading the name Shakespeare connected to my book gave me all the right chills- and I am so grateful for it😊
What
were the biggest rewards and challenges with writing your book?
The biggest challenge was having to go back to
these intense negative feelings that I was experiencing. I had to recall every
emotion and I was scared I would be pulled back into the dark. The biggest
reward was knowing that I had overcome these feelings. While I was writing the
pages for the first few chapters that cover those lower feelings, I realized
how much I had changed and how it didn’t affect me as I thought it would.
On rituals:
Where
do you write?
Primarily in Cafés. The smell of coffee, the cozy ambience and the gentle, faint talking of people inspires and energizes me.
Do
you write every day?
No, only when I am inspired. I can’t write if I don’t feel the words I am writing. If a word only feels like a word to me and not like an emotion, I can’t write because it doesn’t seem truthful to me. Afterall, poetry is all about a feeling wanting to take shape, so it can be released.
What
is your writing schedule?
I don’t set specific timeframes to write, nor do I schedule specific days. I write when I feel like I have something to say, when something is bothering me, when I need to put my feelings into written words. I can write for a whole week and create 3 poems a day or I won’t write for weeks. I can write and pretend but I can’t lie about how I feel. Also, readers are not stupid, they know instantly if someone is being authentic in their words or not.
In
today’s tech savvy world, most writers use a computer or laptop. Have you ever
written parts of your book on paper?
I almost only write my poems on paper. Flowers
Grow on Broken Walls was entirely handwritten. I bought a notebook with
colorful flowers on the cover when I started writing my book. I saw that
notebook and it just called out to me. I didn’t know then, “Flowers” would
become the main message in my book😊
Fun stuff:
Favorite
dessert?
Cake. In any shape or form. I love cake. I would die for cake.
What
TV series are you currently binge watching?
Killing Eve and Peaky Blinders. My two favorite series I’ve already watched a thousand times. Both series are brilliant. Amazing writing, amazing acting, fast paced, dramatic with moments of fun and ease in between and – I just love these kinds of series!
What
song is currently playing on a loop in your head?
There are actually two songs:
Love wave by The 1-800
Ebb tide by The Platters
What
is your go-to breakfast item?
Coffee. Always and forever coffee.
Who
was your childhood celebrity crush?
Ash Ketchum of Pokémon…I mean come on. How can you not find that drive and that determination that boy had attractive? He wanted to become the Pokémon master and he was GOING for it. Damn.
One
thing no one would expect from you.
I have a deep love for dinosaurs. I am fascinated by the thought that there’ve been huge reptiles walking on our earth once. I used to collect dinosaur figures, read books and watch documentaries (and of course Jurassic Park). I wanted to become a paleontologist when I was a child because I always hoped to find a living dinosaur one day. It is my dream to see a real-life sized skeleton of a dinosaur someday. I never had the opportunity to see one.
Really?
What is your favorite dinosaur?
A Brachiosaurus. You’ve got to love this teeny
tiny head on this big fat body. The fact that it weighed more than 28 tons but
only eat plants, it belonged to one of the tallest dinosaurs and could easily
crush another dinosaur with a slight step - but still was one of the
friendliest and more peaceful reptiles is just ridiculous- and so cute.
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