I woke up this morning to an email outlining how many unsold copies (approx 1700) of my book Why is my Hair Curly? is languishing in a warehouse somewhere. The notion of time ticking while Westland wraps up its accounting and brings its life as an entity to a close, lit a fire in me. I figured I could buy some of it but the idea of the rest of the books disappearing without me having made one final push did not sit well.

I composed a message and patiently waded through my contacts on WhatsApp – pasting, editing and customizing it for each person. My message implored my friends and relatives to share the message with their networks, to pick up the book online or from a store.

The responses came pouring back. Some gave me a thumbs up. Others reassured me they were on it, a few more asked me questions. Then as the day passed, I got screenshots of book orders, and snippets of conversations that had me feeling warm and happy. Overcome, I posted on Twitter.

The tribe is a beautiful thing, a safety net, a caring word, actions that speak and silences that cease to exist. If the Westland closure has shown me anything, it is that people matter. Entities may cease to exist but people go on.

— Lakshmi (luck-shme) (@lakshgiri) February 7, 2022

I have no idea if my blitz will cause a hundred or more books to sell. I have no idea what will happen to the unsold books. I have no idea if the book in its current form will exist in a physical or digital form anywhere for the foreseeable future.

I do know that the fire that lit inside me today will not rest until I find a way out of this seemingly dead end. It may take time, years perhaps, but Why is my Hair Curly? will come back in a new avatar – someday.

Until then, if you have not yet bought a copy, do it as a favor to me.

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