We got an opportunity to speak to Parinieta Ahuja- Author of Imaginations Wild, A story about Anam, a desi girl in the US who is adopted by white parents. Over the course of her life, she is out to fulfill her birth mother’s dream of becoming a lawyer before being taken in by writing and acting.
Let’s get to know more about the author and the novel :
Tell us about your personal journey to writing the book.
It was the lack of control around me that pushed me to write it. I was nervous because there was s sudden bump in my life’s journey and a change in my career path. What remained unchanged was my desire to be successful- which in my definition was to make a difference, an impact, to leave a mark. I just started jotting my dreams and aspirations into this person’s story, whom I didn’t know and while our goals might be different, our journey is similar.
Eventually, I started figuring out things over the summer and started accepting that control is dependent on interpretation, that no matter what I do I am beyond my levels and limits in my desire to control everything. It was a fun little project until someone read it. My literary agent, The BookBakers, thought it was a different story, something unique, and decided to represent me and the book.
Were you influenced by personal experiences?
From classes to dinner settings, to friends, every single concept to the imagery in the book, is all derived from my personal experiences. Ever since I can remember, I have used my surroundings to dream of a world, a new one of how I wished it would be. The junction of my life that I was at when I started writing the book was not perfect. I was figuring my life out just as any college student does at one point in their college journey, especially with changing things and desires.
I have always expressed myself the best when in writing. Had I ever thought I would write a book off of it? Nope! But I guess some things are expressed better when I write about them and this book is the biggest representation of that. That life isn’t perfect and it might not always be the way you expect it to be but it is fun. The ‘Not Knowing’ is what makes it fun and exciting. One might not feel it every day but there is a certain exhilaration in the unknown and my personal discovery of that is through this book and piece of writing.
What surprised you the most about the writing experience?
How natural it felt. Everything flowed when I sat down to write. Nothing was forced, nothing was stressful, it was fun, it was simple and easier to get to know myself even better. I was shocked initially at how easy it felt to just write and come up with backstories for my characters as if they were a part of my life. I have always been good at making up scenarios, daydreaming new things, but it still came as a shock of how easy and fun it was to do it when I was writing.
What writers have most influenced you?
I would say, more than a particular writer, a specific book has influenced me. The first real book I read when I was in high school. I had read books before that for example, The Hardy Boys, Famous Five, Harry Potter, etc, but it was Animal Farm by George Orwell that was my first experience of reading about the real world, outside of a 13-year-old’s mindset. Animal Farm is a book that applies to so many stages of life and that is the first piece of writing that is an inspiration to my thinking, what I write about and how I write it.
What is one message you hope readers take away from this story?
I guess the biggest piece of information I would like my readers to take from this book is ‘The Appreciation for Uncertainty’ and to explore for their imagination. Every single one of us has an imagination, and the ability to dream as big as we want. Let’s explore it, let’s look for it, even if we feel it is unachievable, let’s try and find it. Because acceptance is the first step to getting anywhere close to it.
