RFSL is very loosely based on my own coming-of-age real life experiences. The book materialized from a major meltdown I had after my past returned to me and tried to ruin my life. I cried buckets daily: angry that I fell for him again, incensed that he was playing games with me. A few friends asked me to seek help(euphemism for see a shrink). Sorry, not my cup of tea! With my constant disappearances into the washroom at my office(really, I was just crying), some wondered whether I was voodoo'ed. Either that or I was having a bad case of the runs. A select few luckily know me far too well for my stubbornness for e.g. my reluctance to seek professional help. They advised me to write a journal to vent out my angst. I believe in self-medication, and therefore took their advice. What a great thing that turned out to be because a month later, I'd written about 40,000 words. I felt a little bit relieved. Three months on, my writing started to have a firmer form of a collection of short stories. I kept at it, and roughly seven months after my meltdown, I had about 175,000+ words. By then, the tears had disappeared and I felt a whole world better. Reading the entire journal for the first time, I just couldn't help thinking what a crazy story I'd woven because the tale is no longer about me.
It's on Ms. Ludmila Liz Johann.
The story begins with Liz, awake and much sobered from an attempt to end her life the night before. She chastises Jay, her husband for not bringing her Valium for breakfast, then wolfs down her first meal and steals her husband's breakfast as well. After resting for a while, she asks Jay if he's ready to learn what made her almost suicidal. Thus begins her tales on Adam, her first love. Liz transports us to her encounters with Adam, starting from when she's a mischievous 5-year old in her hometown in Malaysia. She says the wrong thing to the right person, and makes her dad get her to promise him to never say 'I love you' to any boy. Liz grows to be an innocent 16-year old preppie in California who falls in love for the first time, a wiser 17-year old back in Malaysia for summer who demands a commitment from her then boyfriend. Tragedy strikes, and Liz loses Adam before she starts college. Twenty one years on, Adam reconnects with her and both exchange e-mails that portray the different paths the former couple took over the years. They agree to meet in person, and Adam returns her the key to her journal. Liz manages to retrieve her journal, and after she reads it, we discover that the whole story told so far is encapsulated in that book. Liz, indeed, has completely forced herself to forget most things on Adam after their breakup in the summer of 88.
What drives Liz suicidal after her date in 2009 with her ex? How does Jay figure into the picture? To find out more, check out the book at the following link: http://www.amazon.com/Rice-fish-squid-lamb-Miriiam/dp/0557531527
And yes, you can browse through a few pages of the book on the Amazon site. Happy exploring!
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